The NANOLAB Project: Educational Nanoscience at High School
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The NANOLAB Project: Educational Nanoscience at High School Annamaria Lisotti1, 2, 3, Valentina De Renzi1, 2, Guido Goldoni1, 2 1 Physics, Informatics and Maths Dep., University of Modena and Reggio E, Modena, Italy. 2 CNR NANO S3 , Modena, Italy. 3 Graduate-School in Physics and Nanoscience, University of Modena and Reggio E., Modena. ABSTRACT The growing role of the nano-perspective in contemporary technologies naturally calls for the inclusion of Nanoscience in high school curricula. Reasons range from-the need to educate future responsible citizens to more exquisitely didactical ones. Nanosciences are-in fact a natural playground to introduce modern Physics in a hands-on interdisciplinary way, therefore opening the possibility to expose intrinsically quantum phenomena even in school laboratories. In some cases in fact the unusual properties of nanomaterials can be probed by simple experiments, including systematic data collection, in contrast to spectacular but qualitative-only demonstrations. In this paper-we will present NANOLAB, an open project by FIM Department of Modena and Reggio E. University in Italy, which aims at including nano-inspired hands-on activities in high schools. It consists of simple, cheap, robust and safe experimental protocols, currently covering four areas of nanoscience: smart metals, nanoparticles, conductive polymers, nanostructured surfaces, each linked to one of Nanoscience “big ideas”. The experimental activities range from manual to digital data collection and elaboration, including use of pupils’ own mobile devices (cell and smart phones, tablets) which turn out to be powerful, low-cost, sensitive multi-purpose lab tools, with an added impact on students’ motivation and active involvement in what we could rightly call a high-tech hands-on approach. All accompanying materials are published under Creative Commons license. In such a picture teachers’ role is crucial. To give them adequate support and provide solid background knowledge a coaching program has been running since 2011. INTRODUCTION The increased importance of the nano-perspective in contemporary technologies and its growing societal impact eventually justifies the inclusion of Nanoscience in high school curricula. In addition to rising student consciousness about such a pervasive topic, and to the huge technological interest, which naturally appeals to students, Nanosciences are a natural playground to introduce modern Physics in a hands-on interdisciplinary way. Indeed, owing to the fact that nano-systems set themselves between the quantum scale of atoms and the classical macroscopic scale, they easily couple to several controllable external fields (temperature, pressure, visible light, electrostatic fields, etc.), but often respond to such fields in different, or even opposite ways with respect to 'classical' materials. This opens the possibility to expose intrinsically quantum phenomena even in school laboratories.
However Nano in formal education faces multiple challenges, including curriculum pressure, time const
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