Annual Meeting for GK-12 Project Teams

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Abstract An impact study of the implementation of newly developed material science and engineering modules is being conducted as part of an NSF GK-12 Fellows grant at the University of South Florida. The USF/NSF STARS GK-12 project focuses on K-5 students, specifically, the 3-5 grade band. The purpose of the developed module is to create or heighten awareness in elementary school students regarding the science of materials and engineering. Throughout the module, students are introduced to modern developments in materials science and engineering through hands-on experiments, presentations, and field trips to the universitys material research related laboratories. The advanced module offers information ranging from basic definitions to the wonders of newly developed materials and nanotechnology. A series of presentations prepared by the GK-12 Fellows, primarily involved with material science research, are offered to the participating schools. In addition, students are also scheduled to visit laboratories that conduct research in different material science and engineering fields such as microelectronics (i.e. clean room, metrology), nanotechnology, geotechnics, polymer chemistry, corrosion, etc. The assessment part of the study comes in the form of formative and summative evaluations using questionnaires and other instruments to generate pre and post assessment data. Module Layout The module layout was developed as an enhancement to the existing nature of matter module, which is taught as part of the science curriculum in the public schools. The following is a the material science and nanotechnology layout Background information for teachers. Pre-assessment test (tests basic nature of matter knowledge) Lesson 1 Wonders of a Small Small Small World. Lesson 2 Concreation. Lesson 3 The Edible Microchip. Lesson 4 Mimicry. Post assessment test. Field trip to University of South Florida Materials Labs. Module Background Introduce Nanotechnology Define nanotechnology and relate nanoscale dimensions to a known entity (e.g. human hair). Relate macro, meso, and microscales with illustrating pictures Present early and present challenges. Show future promises. Pre-assessment Test The pre-assessment test consists of basic questions testing the students knowledge in the nature of matter module. A control group and an experimental group were chosen from each of the three schools. Even though the control group is not taught the presented module, both groups have completed the nature of matter module. Figure 1. A sample pre test containing 11basic questions from the nature of matter end-of-chapter review in the public school 5th grade science book. Wonders of a Small Small Small World Power point presentation with 2 intermittent activities (1 hour lesson) Present the atomic structure (Bohrs model). Discuss geometry (distance between particles and trajectory of electrons). Introduce the periodic table and discuss the most abundant materials available. Explain why we cant see atoms with a light microscope Show picture of SEM, TEM (will be shown during the field trip). Figure 2. Quantum corral of Iron on Copper (111) (Physics Today 46 (11), 17-19 (1993). Concreation This lesson is 2 hours long and involves constructing concrete block with different mixtures, and then applying a bending test to each specimen. Figure 4. Picture of students recording the physical properties of the concrete block they produced. Edible Microchip This lesson is 1 hour long and has two activities. During the first activity, students determine were the sound card is within a desktop. This leads to following activity Students design their own circuit board with a nanoparticle/polymer mixture to optimize the heat transfer within electronic equipment. Graham crackers (represents the microchip) Peanut butter (represents the polymer) M Ms, reeses pieces (represents the nanoparticles) Biomimetics This lesson is 1 hour long and has two activities. During the first activity, students learn about examples of engineering achievement based on mimicking nature. In the second activity, students are asked to create a nanodevice based on biomimetics. Figure 5. Biomimetics cartoon from lesson worksheet. Post assessment Test The same control and experimental groups from each participating school were tested after the completion of the materials module instruction from each of the three schools. The main goal of the post test was to assess the impact of the presented module on already acquired knowledge from the nature of matter module and new information from the presented lessons. Figure 6. Sample copy from a post assessment test given at Edison. Preliminary Results Figure 7. Preliminary results showing the pre and post test correct answers for the experimental and control groups at Edison Elementary. Acknowledgements The authors of this poster would like to recognize the efforts of Mrs. Brenda Hill and Mrs. Katie Lattimore, who collaborated with the Fellows in the module development and implementation as well as the administrators, faculty and staff of the public and private schools that participate in the grant. Furthermore, the authors would also like to thank the National Science Foundation (NSF/GK-12) for funding this grant. Lastly, the authors would like to thank the Institute on Black Life and the rest of the participating graduate and undergraduate fellows.
Annual Meeting for GK-12 Project Teams