Drexel 2003-2006 RET Fellow, Michael Boyer of North Penn High School in Lansdale, PA has developed one of the countries first nanotechnology curriculums for high school students.  Boyer developed an interest in nanotechnology during his three summers as an RET Fellow, and after the first summer of research the wheels began turning as Boyer thought of innovative ways to integrate this cutting edge research into his engineering academy.  Boyer spent his third summer at Drexel working closely with his research advisor, Dr. Frank Ko, to develop a nanotechnology curriculum that was to be implemented that fall. 

Boyer named his program The Future is NEAR (Nanotechnology Education and Research).  The main goal of The Future is N.E.A.R. project is to introduce the fundamentals of nanotechnology, research skills, higher level thinking and the application of knowledge to high school students while cultivating their interest in engineering, problem solving and life-long learning.  The students will research, design, and produce nanofibers – using a process called electrospinning – that will be less than 300 nanometers in diameter. Each team of three students will be assigned a different polymer to research. The research process will require engineering documentation, Web-based proposal development, and a societal-impact study while incorporating the importance of communication, teamwork, and laboratory safety.

The first obstacle Boyer encountered is the lack of technology and funding needed to implement this curriculum.  Boyer put to use the grant writing skills that he learned through the RET program and eventually received funding to purchase electrospinning stations (Image 1) and other research supplies needed for his curriculum.  Boyer received grants from: The Dominion Foundation, Toshiba America Foundation , ING Unsung Heroes Program, and North Penn School District Educational Foundation. 

Once funding was secured it was time to start the class in the fall.  Students in the senior design capstone course of the Engineering Academy will study and perform formal research in the emerging field of nanotechnology. The students will research, design, and produce nanofibers – using a process called electrospinning – that will be less than 300 nanometers in diameter. Each team of three students will be assigned a different polymer to research and their ultimate goal will be to design and perform their own electrospinning experiments that will plot the diameter of their electrospun nanofibers as a function of a series of identified variables such as: (1) polymer concentration, (2) electric field strength and (3) collection plate distance. The research process will require engineering documentation, Web-based proposal development, and a societal-impact study while incorporating the importance of communication, teamwork, and laboratory safety.

To date the class has spun over 28 samples at 4 different weight percentages.  One of the culminating activities is for students will analyze their samples on the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) at Drexel University (image 2). 

The Work is Notable Because:
While most work and research in the field of nanotechnology is being performed at the university and corporate levels, Boyer has developed a curriculum that introduces high school students to this emerging technology. 

According to Boyer, much of the educational world today takes students through an activity where the outcome is known, expected, and prepared.  While there is merit to the approach, it is not enough to spark a true understanding of genuine problem solving.  Students frequently find ways to skip steps to get to the end.  Students find these methods rather easily and thus the activity has lost much of its student creativity and exploration.  In the research world, there is no room for cheating, for skipping steps, or saying, "I've seen this before and I know the answer."  The students are left to create, solve, and try again.  Their original goals are often abandoned for new ones as their research leads them to something deeper, stronger, and closer to the truth!

This curriculum has the potential to become a model not only for nanotechnology curriculum, but also as a model for the introduction of emerging technologies into classrooms across the country.

For more information on The Future is NEAR please visit http://www.thefutureisnear.org/index.html.

For more information on Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) please visit
http://www.coe.drexel.edu/ret or contact Joanne Ferroni (jmh49@drexel.edu).