Nanotechnology education-first step in implementing a spiral curriculum

A nanotechnology learning module was implemented into a freshman engineering course at Virginia Tech. The novelty of our approach is that an established spiral curriculum model has been employed, for the first time to the best of authors' knowledge, to design the nanotechnology option. The module was piloted in a freshman class (180 students) during spring '08. The key components included (1) a prior knowledge survey, (2) a 40-minute in-class presentation on basic nanotechnology concepts, (3) an activity that involves nanoscale image analysis and the plotting of molecular forces usingLabVIEWsoftware, and (4) a post-module survey. Lessons learned from the pilot implementation were incorporated appropriately to expose roughly 1450 freshmen to nanotechnology basics in fall 2008. The module was further refined in spring 2009 when pre- and post-tests were administered to assess the learning outcomes. Based on the prior knowledge data from about 1800 freshmen, we found that they had misconceptions about nanoscience fundamentals, e.g., regarding the (1) role of gravity at the nanoscale, and (2) behavior of intermolecular forces. Exit surveys revealed that approximately 18% of students had an interest in pursuing a nanotechnology option and approximately 65% believed that nanotechnology was relevant in their intended engineering majors. The LabVIEW provided an appropriate environment to implement the hands-on analysis of nanotechnology concepts, but we caution that such hands-on exercises should place greater emphasis on nanotechnology concepts than on LabVIEW skills. Copyright © 2011 TEMPUS Publications.