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Materials Science and Technology: A curriculum that works

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Abstract

Materials Science and Technology is a curriculum developed at Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, which emphasizes hands-on, minds-on studies of materials science and technology. This curriculum has been taught to over 1000 middle and high school teachers nationwide in a series of week-long institute programs, and is used in classrooms in 16 states. Evaluations have shown that the curriculum is highly effective in getting students interested in science and technology, and in encouraging them to study more science.

This paper presents the basics of the curriculum and its approach, along with venues used for promoting the curriculum and the teaching methods used. Full evaluation results are discussed, including the assessment of increased student interest and increased student involvement their own learning. Means of adapting the program to a local situation are also presented.

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References

  1. Materials Science and Technology Teachers Handbook, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, 1990–1998). Development and teacher training supported by U.S. Dept, of Energy, 1985–96 (contact Karen Wieda, Box 999, Richland, WA 99352), http://science-ed.pnl.gov/mstcourse.stm

  2. Understanding by Design, G. Wiggins, Jay McTigh, 2000.

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  4. Materials World Modules, Northwestern University, 2115 North Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208-2610. (1998). www.materialsworldmodules.org/

  5. MAST- Materials Science and Technology Teacher’s Workshop, prepared by the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign, Judy Brewer c/o MAST Modules, 1304 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801 (1996), http://matsel.mse.uiuc.edu/~tw/

  6. See also materials-related activities developed by the Institute for Chemical Education, http://ice.chem.wisc.edu/

  7. Experiments in Materials Science, Engineering and Technology, CD-ROM, J. Jacobs and A.E. McKenney, Prentice Hall, (2001).

  8. ASM Educational Foundation web site report: http://www.asminternational.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ASMFoundation/Materials Camp /Materials Camp.htm

  9. CD available from Edmonds Community College Bookstore, 20000 68th Avenue West, Lynnwood, WA 98036 http://edmonds.collegestoreonline.com/

  10. Energy Concepts, Inc, 404 Washington Blvd., Mundelein, IL 60060, http://www.eci- info. com/home.html

  11. “Materials Technology Education Program Impact on Secondary Teachers and Students,” T. Stoebe, G. Whittaker and K. Hinkley, Journal of Materials Education 24, 23–30 (2002).

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  12. National Science Standards, National Research Council, National Academy Press, 1996.

  13. Material Science and Technology Alignment with the National Science Education Standards, by Vicky Lamoreaux, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Office of Science Education Programs, Richland, WA http://www.materialseducation.org/ealrs/ns hm.htm

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Ms. Karen Wieda and Dr. Jeff Estes at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for their dedication to the development and deployment of this curriculum. This program has been supported in part by the Advanced Technology Education program at the National Science Foundation, grants DUE 0101582, and DUE 0402211, along with an NSF Engineering Education grant EEC 0211666. Teacher educational programs would not have been successful without the support of a cadre of master teachers, whom to whom we express our thanks for their interest and dedication. Teacher education programs were originally supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, and later by NSF and by the ASM Educational Foundation. A commercial version of the curriculum is available from Energy Concepts, Inc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Thomas G. Stoebe

  2. Edmonds Community College, Lynnwood, WA, USA

    John M. Rusin

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  1. Thomas G. Stoebe
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  2. John M. Rusin
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Stoebe, T.G., Rusin, J.M. Materials Science and Technology: A curriculum that works. MRS Online Proceedings Library 861, 54–59 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-861-PP1.2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-861-PP1.2

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