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The Materials World Module Series and the Polymer Module: A Design-Oriented Approach to Teach Scientific Concepts to Grades 9-12 Students through Materials Science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

SonBinh T. Nguyen ,
Jennifer K. Cocson ,
Carol L. Colby ,
Robert P. H. Chang  and
Keith E. Miller
SonBinh T. Nguyen
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and the Materials Research Center, 2145 Sheridan Road, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208-3113, USA
Jennifer K. Cocson*
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and the Materials Research Center, 2145 Sheridan Road, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208-3113, USA
Carol L. Colby
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and the Materials Research Center, 2145 Sheridan Road, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208-3113, USA
Robert P. H. Chang*
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Materials Research Center, 2145 Sheridan Road, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
Keith E. Miller
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering and the Materials Research Center, 2145 Sheridan Road, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
*
*Corresponding author, Email: [email protected].
**Also corresponding author, Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

The Materials World Modules (MWM), funded by the National Science Foundation, is a series of nine short texts that introduce science and scientific concepts to high school students through guided investigations of the materials that surrounds us in the modern world. Designed to be flexible, these modules can be incorporated into a high school science curriculum as a learning-by-inquiry addition to the main science texts. Depending on the time that the teacher has, each module can be covered in 8 to 15 class periods. Using an inquiry method of learning, the modules prompt the students to generate questions about a subject and find experimental approaches which will lead them to the answers. The modules encourage the students to learn by carrying out simple experiments using readily available materials. The Polymers Module of the MWM series aims at introducing the concepts of polymer chemistry and polymeric materials to an audience that has had some exposure to general chemistry. It asks the students to investigate their surroundings to find polymer-based objects and to infer the properties of those objects from knowing the structures of the monomeric building blocks. It introduces the relation between polymer properties and structure and that between polymer properties and molecular weight by suggesting experiments that students can do with poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(vinyl acetate) films. Finally, it encourages the students to use what they have learned to design simple devices using polymeric materials. An example of such a device is a humidity sensor that is fabricated from thin polymer films.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 684: Symposium GG – Impacting Society Through Materials Science and Engineering Education , 2001 , GG6.6
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2001

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References

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