One year ago at this conference, we reported on our progress in developing a set of well-behaved, open-ended conceptual questions to cover a wide range of topics that were thought to be critical in order to assess the extent that chemistry students at the senior high school and freshmen undergraduate level were prepared or able to learn nanoscience. In other words, we were interested in constructing a roadmap connecting basic concepts in chemistry, quantum physics, and mathematics with the key principles in nanoscience such as size- and shape-dependent properties and molecular self-assembly. Our approach had been data-driven and guided by a constructivist framework. Since then, more students had been interviewed individually and in small focus groups in a semi-structured, think-aloud style. This presentation will focus on the new results and insights we were able to gain over the past year and our plans to expand the study nationally.

General chemistry students' understanding of nanoscience: A continuous study

240th National Meeting (2010)

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