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What is MWM?

The Materials World Modules (MWM) is an integrated STEM Program based on crosscutting topics from the interdisciplinary field of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and Nanotechnology, established in 1993 with initial funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), and further developed under the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) and subsequent grants from NSF, the U.S. Department of Defense and industry.

Materials science is the study of the characteristics and uses of various materials, such as metals, ceramics, polymers, and nanoscale materials that are employed in science and technology/engineering. It is an interdisciplinary subject that employs and integrates concepts and techniques from a variety of disciplines, including chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics.

MISSION

The mission of the MWM Program is to develop an effective pre-college education curricula to prepare students with STEM literacy and equip them with 21st century skills set to become a competent and creative STEM workforce and a globally responsible citizenry based on the following MWM core values:

  1. Improve STEM education and literacy by the incorporation of the “T” & “E” in STEM – incorporating engineering design and relevant technology applications into classroom instruction and help schools make science and engineering practices an integral part of their curricula. The full integration of the STEM curriculum is critically essential for coherence, real-world relevance, depth of understanding and the development of systems thinking.
  2. The hands-on practice of scientific inquiry and engineering design – the heart of the technology R&D cycle and a key conceptual shift of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), released in 2013.
  3. The use of digital multimedia and interactive learning technologies to reach larger numbers of students and provide equal opportunity access and personalized learning support for all.
  4. A community-partnership approach that bridges gaps across sectors, disciplines and grade levels and keeps new knowledge and perspective flowing into classrooms.

MWM and STEM Integration

Since its inception, MWM has aimed to strengthen and integrate the formal STEM curriculum. The integration of the U.S. STEM curriculum has been an overarching goal of the MWM program. Three elements have been central to this effort:
  • A Non-disruptive Approach: MWM has never set out to replace the existing curriculum but rather to enhance it by reinforcing core concepts that were already being taught in the classroom. To this end, it created flexible, easy-to-use modules for insertion into existing courses, with an emphasis on standards alignment.
  • Designing for the Middle Band: MWM is designed to target the middle band, i.e. the greatest majority of students; it aims to reach all students equally and thereby produce the broadest impact on the U.S. curriculum as a whole. The result of this approach has been a methodology that is equally effective in classrooms of all kinds – rich and poor, urban and rural – regardless of teacher experience or student gender or socioeconomic background. 
  • A Focus on Materials Science and Engineering (and Nanomaterials): MWM modules are based on crosscutting topics drawn from the inherently interdisciplinary field of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE). With fundamental concepts that span physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, math, and nearly every field of engineering, MSE integrates, reinforces, and deepens STEM learning. The “concrete” nature of materials makes abstract concepts more accessible, memorable, and intuitive for students. Learners of all ages can readily grasp that making a better tool – one that is cheaper, lighter, stronger, faster, or safer for the environment – often means using a different material to make that tool. As one of the oldest research and development fields known to man, the study of Materials also offers outstanding societal, economic and environmental relevance: for centuries, materials and their properties have been the basis for most new technologies, from farming implements to housing and transportation systems. Today materials systems drive everything from mobile phones to medical diagnostics and advanced bio- and nanoscale materials are pushing the frontiers of science and technology in renewable energy, health care, environmental protection, high-speed communications and global security. The use of materials affects every aspect of the technology R&D cycle, from basic research to product design, manufacture, distribution, installation, and deployment.
Scientific Inquiry and Engineering Design

An important construct of the MWM program is the use of scientific inquiry and engineering design. Since 1993, MWM modules have taught specific STEM concepts through student-directed inquiry, and then challenged students to demonstrate their understanding of these concepts by using them to design functional products. Today, the combined hands-on practice of scientific inquiry and engineering design is a key emphasis of the NGSS (NGSS Lead States, 2013) and essential for STEM integration. It demonstrates the interdependence of science and engineering, affords students the opportunity to apply math principles to science and engineering problems (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, 2010), and as the heart of the technology R&D cycle, helps students better understand the role of science and engineering in society and the economy. The practice of engineering design is described as especially important for increasing diversity in STEM because it is “inclusive of students” who may have traditionally been marginalized in the science classroom or experienced science as not being relevant to their lives or future (NGSS Lead States, 2013).

  • Next Generation Science Standards: Every MWM module teaches all eight of the science and engineering practices prescribed in the NGSS (NGSS Lead States, 2013):
      • Asking Questions (for science) and Defining Problems (for engineering)
      • Developing and Using Models
      • Planning and Carrying out Investigations
      • Analyzing and Interpreting Data
      • Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
      • Constructing Explanations (for science) and Designing Solutions (for engineering)
      • Engaging in Argument from Evidence
      • Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
  • MWM’s methodology also implements the iterative engineering design process outlined in the NGSS. Design projects challenge students to address “problems of societal and global significance” (e.g. designing a drug to target cancer cells or an environmental catalyst to improve water quality) and “attend to a broad range of considerations” as they refine and optimize their designs, including the feasibility of manufacture and implementation, the needs of the end user (e.g. cost, ease of use) and the needs of society (e.g. safety, environmental impact)
Digital Multimedia and Interactive Learning

Rapid advances of information technology have resulted in the exponential growth in the adoption of mobile devices in the last decade. Internet access and social networking on wireless devices is bringing instant access to information without spatial barriers. This new mode of communication is already demonstrating many important benefits to learning.

In 2013, MWM created a prototype interactive nano-based STEM module (i-MWM) entitled “Introduction to the Nanoscale” based on content from several MWM print modules. i-MWM uses media-rich interactive learning technology to enhance cognition, self-efficacy, and digital information processing and enable personalized learning to engage and support individual learners more effectively.

  • i-MWM includes interactive games designed to give students an intuitive feel for nanoscale objects. Because they blend the formal and the informal, students enjoy them enough to use them outside of class. A series of fun, engaging, interactive games based on a character called “Sammy the Superscaler” was developed to teach nanotechnology to younger students in middle school. In addition, other nanotechnology-based games, such as the Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell, were created to enhance the engineering experience through the games. For example, players are hired by the Superscaler Manufacturing Company to design a high efficiency solar cell from nanoscale materials, creating the best possible device from the materials and funds available. Like real world researchers, if they do well, they are given access to more funds and better materials.
  • i-MWM offers students a personalized learning experience. Multimedia tools appealing to different senses and learning styles expand students “voice and choice” about their own learning process. For example, students with reading challenges may find it easier to grasp a concept by listening to a narrated tutorial or viewing an Students can personalize their learning experience by studying at their own pace using the tools they find most useful, following “multiple routes” to learn the same concept. For example, a diversity of tools are available to study the nanoscience concept of Surface-Area-to-Volume Ratio (SAV). Built-in periodic assessments allow students monitor their own progress and review material as needed. Real-time assessment feedback helps teachers intervene where and when they are most needed.
MWM’s Community-Based Approach

The overarching goal of STEM integration is a lofty one that cannot be accomplished by any single sector, discipline or initiative. Since its inception in 1993, MWM has involved community partners in its content development, teacher development, and product dissemination and has continually to build on this practice as its backbone for success.

  • Content Development and Teacher Development

MWM’s goals in content and professional development have been to:

      1. Bridge the knowledge gap between secondary and tertiary education by continuously transferring leading-edge research and technology applications from university laboratories into pre-college classrooms;
      2. Improve curricular coherence by introducing fundamental concepts in precollege and link them to a variety of applications to prepare students for college-level STEM study;
      3. Work directly with its end users to ensure an affordable, effective, and easy-to use product that would be appealing for students and well aligned with existing course content, learning standards, and the constraints of the classroom;
      4. Organize workshops (online and face-to-face) to prepare teachers in the “inquiry and design” methodology.
  • Community-based adoption and dissemination

While teachers and students find the use of MWM in class to be very exciting, the formal adoption of MWM as part of an integrated STEM curriculum can take much longer to implement.  Community support of new content adoption has been shown to be a successful and viable model in several communities. This model challenges each local community to participate in education as part of its own future economic strategy.

Part of the success of the community approach has come from local and regional corporate support. Companies have been funding local schools to support their use of the MWM program. Company representatives have participated in MWM community workshops and events to support local benefits.

      1. MWM-Mexico: CIMAV, Chihuahua state department of education, local government and cement company, regional schools
      2. MWM-Qatar: Petrochemical industry, University of Qatar, local schools and government
  • Networking among communities and regions

While local governments and companies are critical to economy of a specific locale, the federal government has been playing a very significant role in tying communities and regions through its national initiatives and programs. These efforts have benefited the whole country through leveraging local and region support. Thus, they tend to homogenize the STEM education across the US. In addition to the NNI-NCLT initiative, in 2006, the Department of Defense established a MWM Outreach Center for teacher professional development and module dissemination. These support made a major impact on networking among different regions and states. As a result, there was much sharing of best practices and experiences gained. Thousands of teachers across the 50 states have benefited from these programs. This in turn has helped in workforce development and the economy.  With the advent of rapid expansion of information technology these networking effort will prove to be part of the future education paradigm in content development and sharing, and teacher training, in particular.