Materials Science as a High School Capstone Course for the Physics First Curriculum
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Materials Science as a High School Capstone Course for the Physics First Curriculum Nathan A. Unterman Science Department, Glenbrook North High School, 2300 Shermer Road, Northbrook, Illinois 60062-6700, U.S.A.; National Center for Learning and Teaching in Nanoscale Science and Engineering, 1801 Maple, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60201-3149, U.S.A. ABSTRACT By changing the high school science curriculum from Freshman Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics (BCP); to Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (PCB), we have an opportunity to create a new Senior level science elective. The entire high school science core curriculum has been reviewed and parts rewritten to create a coherent, integrated program based on common themes such as energy, particulate nature of matter, and forces. Nanoconcepts including size and scale and surface area to volume ratio are integrated where appropriate. In our school, we began PCB during the 2008-2009 academic year. In anticipation of these students becoming upperclassmen, a capstone elective course of Materials Science has been developed based on scientific models and literacies shaped in the PCB course sequence. Deployment of this new model-centered course is set for the 2010-2011 school year. INTRODUCTION Glenbrook North High School is changing to a PCB curriculum. Many other secondary schools are in the process of this change. Instead of just rearranging current offerings, as has been done elsewhere, a complete review and overhaul of core curricular offerings was made, including ways to identify and address student naïve notions of science concepts. Only Physics Education Research Groups have much to offer precollege schools in this area, and some Chemistry Education Research Groups are beginning to emerge with similar objectives. With the completion of the Physics and Chemistry rewrites, a concern for a senior-year core science course was raised. Materials Science was chosen as a capstone course for a coherently developed four-year high school science sequence. Currently, there is no formally produced Materials Science course in secondary education. This Materials Science curriculum was written as a reasoned continuation of the PCB sequence and continues to confront student misconceptions. This Materials Science course is not an independent course, but is a continuation of a curriculum that is a result of a complete, integrated rewrite of high school science. Student misconceptions identified in the Nanoscience Concept Inventory and Materials Science Concept Inventory (the MSCI is in development) played an important part in the creation of this course. What is presented here is just the Materials Science part of this entire secondary science curriculum revision. The progress of civilization is an integral part of the history of Man and his materials – the Stone Age, the Iron Age, and today’s Age of Silicon. Materials determine the technologies that provide protection, communication, information, construction, mechanization, agriculture, energy, transporta
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