NANOSCALE PROCESSES IN THE ENVIRONMENT: SECONDARY TEACHERS AND NANOBIOGEOCHEMISTRY OF MICROBE/MINERAL INTERACTIONS

The nature of science is an important subject of the National Science Standards and in the accreditation processes and curricula of educational programs producing secondary science teachers. However, teaching about science and the actual practice of science are commonly different processes. This project involves 5 secondary teachers from the disciplines of biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, and mathematics interacting with a nanoscience research team over a period of 4 years. The interdisciplinary nature of the research, Nanobiogeochemistry of Microbe/Mineral Interactions, in the laboratory of M. Hochella of Virginia Tech, and the enthusiasm of the research team to work closely with teachers in the laboratory over this period should lead to an in-depth study and evolving understanding of the nature of scientific research by both teachers, university faculty and graduate students. Interviews of scientists and teachers addressed the questions of theoretical assumptions in research, procedures and protocols, collecting and analyzing data, achieving objectivity, and the cutting edge nature of research. An analysis of this data will help us better understand how scientists view their own work, how practicing teachers view the same work, and how teachers relay that view to their students. For example, we are investigating the perceptions of the development of technology and it’s influence on and by science and the relation of nanoscience to society and public policy by both scientists and teachers.