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The Materials World Modules Program: Incorporating Technology in Pre-College Education

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Matthew Hsu,
Renee Dewald and
Ken Turner
Matthew Hsu
Affiliation:
Materials Research Center Northwestern University 2225 North Campus Drive Evanston, IL 60208
Renee Dewald
Affiliation:
Evanston Township High School 1600 Dodge Avenue Evanston, IL 60201
Ken Turner
Affiliation:
Schaumburg High School 1100 West Schaumburg Road Schaumburg, IL 60194
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Abstract

Incorporating technology in pre-college education is an important goal. There is a clear mandate from the national education standards movement to address the issues of scientific and technologically literate citizenship. The Materials World Modules (MWM) Program uses a unique approach based upon design and inquiry to unite the abstract, quantitative methods of scientific inquiry with the concrete methods of technological design to help students develop and integrate these complementary skills. By experiencing MWM, students learn science by doing science. Using the MWM modules, students will be doing what scientists and engineers do: integrating the design process of propose, build, test and evaluate with the inquiry process of question, predict, experiment, reflect, and communicate. This kind of active application of learning leads to mastery of scientific concepts and greater retention.

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References

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