SECONDARY SCIENCE TEACHERS' DEVELOPMENT OF PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE AS RESULT OF INTEGRATING NANOSCIENCE CONTENT IN THEIR CURRICULUM

Abstract

Nanoscale science is a rapidly-developing, multidisciplinary field of science and research that combines engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, and information technology pushes and the boundary between the science and the technology required to conduct it. Nanoscale science involves investigating and working with matter on the scale of 1–100 microns and has broad societal implications for new technologies. It is estimated that the worldwide workforce necessary to support the field of nanoscale science and nanotechnology will be close to 2 million by 2015 (National Nanotechnology Initiative, 2005). With such rapid developments in nanoscale science and technology, it is becoming more incumbent upon K-12 science teachers to provide the learning experiences necessary for students to understand the principles that govern behavior at the nanoscale and develop the skills needed to apply these concepts to improve everyday life. While onlya limited amount of nanoscale curricular materials are available for K-12 and undergraduate education many important unanswered questions exist, including: How do science teachers learn to teach nanoscale science?