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NOVIDADES
Working in outreach programmes run by our physics departments, we have learnt that pupils in secondary schools know very little about materials science and nanotechnology. There are various educational resources on these subjects for students and teachers (www.materialsworldmodules.org and www.pls.scienzamateriali.unimib.it) but because the topics are not included in Italian national curricula, they are usually covered only briefly within the context of more standard disciplines such as physics and chemistry. A step forward has been the introduction of materials science also encompassing nanotechnology in secondary education as the subject of a specific programme within the 'Piano Nazionale Lauree Scientifiche' (PNLS), an initiative by the Italian ministry of education and research that aims to create connections between school and university. The programme entails the design of teaching projects centred around cutting-edge research co-designed by academics and teachers (P. Riccardi, Science 354, 674; 2016). These projects have been highly appreciated by both students and teachers. Unfortunately, despite their success, we believe that these projects are still too sporadic and isolated. The experience of the PNLS suggested an effective way to expose pupils to nanotechnology: an after-school programme launched by the Liceo Scientifico 'E. Fermi' in Cosenza in September 2016, in close collaboration with the Department of Physics of the University of Calabria. A group of 14-year-old pupils attended an extracurricular course focused on materials science. For its first year, this course of 'Physics and Materials Science Technologies' lasted for 40 hours, the same duration as the formal physics course. The aim is to eventually extend the course to the five years of secondary school in Italy. The initiative has now been extended to the Liceo 'G. Berto', in the town of Vibo Valentia and to the Liceo 'C. Darwin' in Rome, in collaboration with the bachelor's degree course in materials science of the University of RomeTor Vergata. The programme coordinator, Rosa Tucci, and students from the Liceo 'E. Fermi', in the laboratory of the University of Calabria's physics department. Photo courtesy of Daniela Miano.
Secondary education is facing the challenge of an increasing amount of scientific knowledge in a research- and innovation-rich environment. Because emerging technologies cannot yet play an established part in formal school curricula, we have developed a bottom-up approach based on collaboration between schools and university departments operating in the same local context. The idea is simple, feasible and can be easily replicated and adapted, because flexibility in school programmes and schedules is currently being introduced in many educational systems worldwide. We hope that our initiative will serve as an inspiration for similar ones that could lead to a structural and long-term inclusion of nanoscience in secondary education. Nature - In the Classroom. Posted: November 07, 2017. |
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