Teacher Resources

One of the great strengths of nanoscience can also pose tough choices for teachers. Nanotechnology does not fall under one just discipline such as physics, biology, chemistry, materials science, or engineering, but all these and others. In science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education circles, there is an ongoing debate about nanotechnology education: Should it have its own individual curriculum? Or should nanotechnology be woven into the many scientific—and social—disciplines comprising its many elements?

This section won’t settle that argument, but it does provide a wide variety of resources to help teachers who are making nanotechnology a part of their lesson plans.

Classroom Resources

• Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) NanoTeach project is an NSF-funded program that combines an instructional design framework with nanoscale science content using multiple delivery methods for high school science teachers. 
• National Center for Learning and Teaching  (NCLT) is dedicated to developing and offering nanostechnology-specific instructional modules, professional development, and a network of educator communities related to learning and teaching about the nanoscale. The website offers multiple resources across educational levels.
• NanoEd Resource Portal at Northwestern University is a rich resource for nanotechnology curriculum development and lesson plans, as well as video simulations and links for games, research, events, and news related to nanotechnology education.
• Materials World Modules offers for purchase a series of interdisciplinary teaching modules assembled by Northwestern University on nanoscience and materials topics—including composites, ceramics, concrete, biosensors, biodegradable materials, smart sensors, polymers, food packaging, and sports materials—and supports a virtual community of module users. The modules are designed for use in middle and high school science, technology, and math classes; they have been used by more than 9,000 students in schools nationwide.
• Exploring the Nanoworld is a University of Wisconsin (UW) website featuring movies, slide shows, kits, references (including the Lego® nanobricks booklet), and teaching modules for K–12 teachers. See also UW's Educator Resources page from the Internships in Public Science Education (IPSE) program.
• Nanoscale Science Education research by North Carolina State University's College of Education explores scale, haptics (learning through touch), and molecular spintronics, and provides educators with nanotechnology education resources, articles of interest, and research on learning nanoscience.
• Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization (CNEU) at Penn State’s College of Engineering offers resources such as webcasts, introduction-to-nanotechnology video modules, workshops for educators, and resources related to careers in nanotechnology from both the educator’s and industry’s points of view.
• Nanotech Camps are held year-round at CNEU. One-day camps for students in 7th grade and higher introduce nanotechnology and related careers. Three-day summer camps for high school students across Pennsylvania give them an orientation to basic nanofabrication processes, applications, and careers, and the opportunity to observe nanofabrication processes in the Penn State Nanofabrication Facility.
• Nanotechnology and Career Knowledge (NACK) Center at Penn State is closely aligned with CNEU. NACK has designed community-college-level degree programs that support nanotechnology careers in industry; in addition it provides remote-access characterization equipment for the nanoscale, and it offers professional development programs for educators.
• NanoKids™, a project of Rice University's Tour Group, is an educational outreach program that provides teachers with conceptual tools to teach nanoscale science and emerging molecular technology to students with diverse learning styles and interests. The website has videos and an accompanying workbook for students, as well as sample tests and other teacher resources.
• National Science Digital Library is an extensive collection of online resources for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Using the Search feature provides myriad links related to nanoscience and nanotechnology.
• Talking Nano is a set of six professionally produced educational DVDs on nanotechnology that can provide classroom enrichment for students and/or professional development for teachers. It is produced by the Nanoscale Informal Science and Engineering Network (NISE Net) and Boston’s Museum of Science, both of which have additional educator resources. Several excerpts of "The Amazing Nano Brothers Juggling Show” from the Talking Nano bonus disk are available on YouTube.
• TryNano.org is a website specifically geared for high school students and teachers who want to learn about nanotechnology.

Some Other U.S. Educator/Classroom Resource Links

National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network Education Portal

NASA Quest Nanotechnology Resources

Sciencenter at Cornell University

Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN) at Purdue University

nanoHUB (online simulation and more for nanotechnology; part of the NCN)

CNS-UCSB and CNS-ASU (the Centers for Nanotechnology in Society) at University of California San Diego and Arizona State University) offer fellowships, internships, and courses related to the societal aspects of nanotechnology.

The Nanotechnology Group, Inc. educational projects and tools

McREL NanoLeap into a New Science

NanoTecNexus is a nanotechnology industry organization that showcases recent nanotechnology research with a special focus on life sciences. It provides information to industry professionals, academics, commercial companies, and investors.

Arizona Nanotechnology Cluster

A Few International Nanotechnology Education Websites

Nano You (European Union)

Access Nano (Australia)

Professional Development Programs for Teachers

The National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network's Research Experience for Teachers (RET) programs are 6-week summer research experiences for teachers that take place at five sites across the country: Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Howard University, Pennsylvania State University, and University of California at Santa Barbara. NSF funds these and other RET programs for K-12 teachers and community college faculty.

The following RET programs place teachers in engineering research facilities during the summer so they can bring knowledge of engineering and technological innovation back to their classrooms.

* Columbia University, Center for Electron Transport in Molecular Nanostructures

* Harvard University, Materials Research Science and Engineering (MRSEC) and Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC)

* Northwestern University, Materials Research Science & Engineering Center (MRSEC)

* Rice University, Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology

* University of Arkansas & Oklahoma University, Center for Semiconductor Physics in Nanostructures