Bringing Nanotechnology to K–12 Classrooms: The NANOweek Project
Sunday, April 1, 2012
11:00 AM–12 Noon

The picture above shows the measured length and width of the cantilever. Picture taken by Natalie W.  Here we can estimate that the cantilever is 10 times longer than its width. The tip is the small pale yellow circle at the far edge of the cantilever.

The second image was taken by Becky Q., and it shows a slanted profile which captures both the cantilever and tip – cool illustrative shot!  We can see that the length of the tip is the same order of magnitude as the width of the cantilever, which is not obvious in the first image.

Advertising button disbtributed at the NSF 2011 GK-12 Conference

I hope a revamped, improved program comes on-line real soon.

Presentation Boot Camp has made me assess the delivery of intended messages in talks with a critical eye.  Richard Tankersley (our sergeant ), told us that this would happen!

Here’s my short impact statement.

I am surprised at the number of people who believe that they have great presentation skills, present company included.  In fact, I learned in Presentation Boot Camp that scientific presentations are marred with wasted time, during which most members of the audience are unengaged.  However, just one day in boot-camp has taught me a few basic skills; (1) don’t sit at the computer until you have a good outline of what you’re going to talk about, (2) have a few “star” moments, (3) go ahead, don’t be afraid to have your talk graded (yes, a rubric was provided), and (4) if you don’t use the skills you learned, you’ll lose them.

Borrowing from American Express:

The cost of a tank of gas to travel to Holland, MI = $48.13

The cost to get a new suit and hard to find, stylish walking shoes = $128.44

The cost of my NDeRC GK-12 experience = priceless

As an NDeRC fellow, having talked often about my research, and being involved with developing activities that help to demonstrate how my research data is generated has provided me the ability to interview with confidence.  At Hope College, they were very interested in my ideas about developing more activities for undergraduates and K-12 students.  I received great compliments from the undergraduate students and the faculty who attended my presentation.  I made sure to give credit to our fellowship program. 

Learning from discussions with our K-12 teachers in workshops and biweekly meetings has also provided me with valuable feedback.  I’m able to understand where ambiguity exists and when clarity can be improved upon when teaching others about my research.  I received compliments from the faculty at Hope College about my passion and ability to explain my research.  I delivered a research presentation, and I interviewed with faculty from the chemistry, physics, math, and engineering departments with a calm confidence.   Pat and Tom encourage NDeRC graduate students to discuss our research.  They challenge us to use the skills and training we’ve attained from relationships with fellow grad students, teachers, and K-12  students to better convey our work to others.  My Notre Dame graduate STEM fellow experience has great perks that transfer to great interviewing skills.  How awesome is that?!

The NANO group visited two schools in January, and we had a great time with the students.  Also, I attended an talk  given by John Afleck-Graves titled, “Education Summit II: Education’s Impact on Economic Development”.   Statistics were reported which makes a strong case for outreach and partnership across all levels of education.   I’m proud of K-12 participation because it allows students to plug into the nanoscience world, and the students really seem to have a great time!

We had a great time at Holy Family, and the students were totally engaged.  They enjoyed and asked many, many questions.  We hope to skype with them and other host classrooms very soon.

At NDeRC everyone is a star!  A few of the lesser known stars were penciled into the yesterdays extravaganza.  Becky, Michael, and I were highlighted in Lynda Rose’s presentation!  Tom and Pat were there working triple duty – networking and building contacts, helping out with instrument demos, and serving as transport saviors for all of the equipment and scopes!

Not only were light bulbs going off in the room (we were in the banquet room in McKenna Hall), but light bulbs were flashing in my head.  I begin to truly understand our initiatives and how they relate to community  goals.  Leaders in business were eager to hear about how they can invest and take interest in the growing nanotechnology business sector.  A huge emphasis was placed upon teacher and student involvement.  I thought to myself that everyone in our cohort should have the chance to be elbow to elbow with leaders at ND and the community!  The more others know who we are and what we do, the closer the relationship will grow.

pics will be posted soon!