Educational reconstruction of size-depended-properties in nanotechnology for teaching in tertiary education

Abstract

There is an overarching theme in Science Education to integrate in the school and university curriculum interdisciplinary state-of-art innovations. The field of Nanotechnology is such an example, because it combines the aforementioned interdisciplinarity and novelty with a well-documented educational value. Herein, a novel teaching approach concerning size-dependent properties at the nanoscale for chemistry and physics undergraduate students is proposed. The analysis of the scientific content and its following reconstruction for teaching purposes is based on the theoretical framework of the Model of Educational Reconstruction (MER). This analysis yielded two fundamental concepts and a series of activities that can be the main core of teaching Nanotechnology at a university level.