Team Teaching A Global Education Consortium Collaboration in
Teaching Virtual Classrooms Immersive Game Platforms Informal
Learning Projects & Exhibits Media Projects for Public
Awareness Advisors, Overviews, Consulting
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Team Teaching requires cross disciplinary
discussions Integration of subjects requires collaboration and team
teaching In the current era of converging technologies, students
are being faced with decisions concerning integration of courses
that were once single focus fields of study.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Major issues for students Guidance
counselors in high schools have not been informed about the
nano-bio-info- cogno converging technologies. Therefore, teachers
and counselors are still following outdated state and federal
requirements for course selection. Student achievement is still
based on individual testing assessments resulting in competitive
barriers that do not foster the type of individual who works well
in collaborations or team learning.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 The art of listening in groups Courses in
communication and collaboration need to be offered to teachers and
professors of K-20. The art of listening and sharing knowledge
between disciplines has not been taught, nor encouraged. To achieve
the training of good scientists and teachers who have the capacity
to work well in multidisciplinary groups, there are several new
kinds of traits necessary.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Most difficult for teachers The first and
perhaps most difficult is to learn new ways to communicate across
the disciplines. Professors have been required to use the technical
language of their respective disciplines to convey their thoughts
in a lecture as clearly and precisely as possible. However,
researchers and teachers in other disciplines are usually
unfamiliar with their technical language of preference.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Teach/learn is a sharing process Simplify
the language whenever possible. When talking across the bridges we
seek to build, we must learn to translate accurately but clearly to
an audience who will not necessarily be familiar with our
respective languages and begin to train our students to learn the
skill of communicating across the disciplinary divides.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 How do we accomplish this? New programs
where students are systematically called upon to explain their work
or the work of others to their peers in other areas of study. Since
Mathematics is the foundation of all sciences and engineering, a
common language might surface from math, that can be extended to
explore commonalities of integrated subjects to open discussions
among peer groups.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Physics should be taught first Biology
Chemistry PHYSICS First Science To be studied Mathematics Base for
all Sciences According to Leon Lederman PhD, Nobel Prize Laureate
in Physics, our education in the basic sciences has been taught
backwards for the past 100 years. His project states that Students
who learn PHYSICS FIRST will gain a better understanding of
Chemistry as the second science and Biology as the third.
Engineering needs to be introduced to students in all the major
areas of science Cross-disciplinary communication between students
will expand the knowledge base for research excellence in the next
decade.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Starting in primary grades Physics First
concepts are now being taught in 1000 of our 15,000 school
districts across the nation. By introducing the concepts for
physics in grades 7-9, along with Algebra I and II, we will be able
to encourage students to take more math and science courses in high
school. Our current proficiency requirements for grades K-12 are
the lowest of all nations.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Attend lectures on all subjects In order to
solidify these changes, we need to pose challenges to our
university students to work in teams of mixed skills which include
engineers, physicists, mathematicians, biologists, chemists, and
cognitive scientists. Team members should attend lectures in each
of the cross-disciplinary subjects and develop presentations for
their peers as part of their course work for communication skills.
The resulting papers could then be developed into textbooks for
teachers/students in primary grades.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 A Broad range of fields Since we cannot
train our students to be experts in this broad range of fields, we
must encourage them to communicate across the complete range and to
seek out speakers who offer this expertise. Attending
cross-discipline lectures expands their focus and knowledge base
while challenging their minds to grasp the complexity of the
interwoven subjects to introduce a holistic approach to science.
The resulting balance complements the single- focus reductionist
method of inquiry necessary for research.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Diverse team research Thus, the best
programs will be those that throw the students from diverse
disciplines together. The next generation of researcher will need
to successfully form multi-team collaborative efforts between all
the diverse disciplines to develop the new converging
technologies.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Full integration programs Summer workshops
can provide incentives by exposing individuals to the potentials of
the union, but only through full-fledged educational programs can
the efforts move forward effectively and evolve the integration of
physics, chemistry and biology with engineering.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Integrated subject device Example:
Nanobiosyms Inc., developed by Anita Goel, PhD Physics, MD from
Harvard/MIT combines biology and physics at the nanoscale. Her
company developed a hand-held detector for bio-warfare, which also
detects diseases for the medical field.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Nanodevices require unity of focus It is
likely that the full potential for nanodevices will only be reached
by uniting engineers with biologists, chemists, physicists, and
cognitive scientists. To actually understand what will emerge when
nanotubes are directly contacting neurons, stimulating them, and
recording from them will require considerable research, and multi
focus-team expertise.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Collaborative global advantage Collaborative
versus competitive projects in education A collaborative effort
among nations would initiate team learning and integrated courses
while introducing real-time multi- cultural experiences. All
courses would be offered in multiple languages increasing the
desire of U.S. students to become multi- lingual at an earlier
age.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 An Example from Taiwan A large textbook with
instructions for experiments was developed by teachers from the
lectures they attended for one year. The textbook (451 pgs.) was
printed in Chinese, but the diagrams and photos included with the
text clearly showed the quality of the teachers understanding.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Multi-discipline training for teachers from
the textbook lessons The next step in Taiwan was the development of
teacher workshops as the primary method of knowledge transfer where
experts, professors and experienced seed teachers gave the talks
and led hands-on activities based on the textbook development to
primary grade teachers. Topics included carbon nanocapsules, carbon
nanotube models, and making nano solar cells. Laboratory tours were
then arranged for all the teachers
Slide 19
TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Taiwan K-12 edu project initiated by the
engineering faculty In just two years of operation, engineering
faculty from 17 universities and 193 teachers from 169 K-12 schools
participated in programs at the regional centers. Even though the
teachers knew very little about the science or technology when they
entered the program, they were able to develop 224 lesson plans,
write one set of textbooks, a comic book, and create one animated
film for K-12 students.
Slide 20
TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Unifying the subjects as a 3-part Symphony
in Nanotechnology To assemble the instructional materials, the
lessons, pictures, and text created by the teachers were collected
and published as a three-part set of books titled: Nanotechnology
Symphony: Physics, Chemistry and Biology, which encouraged the
early integration of these three important subjects in the primary
grades of 7-12. As introductory material about nanotechnology, the
books contain concepts such as nano-size, nano- material,
nano-catalyst, photonic crystal, and various applications, along
with 6 experiments designed to give students hands-on experiences
in a regular high- school laboratory.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Videos and comic books prevail For the
younger students, The 15 min. animated film titled: A Fantastic
Journey for Nana and Nono introducing the basic theory of nano
technology and applications for daily life from a childs
perspective, along with a Super Hero Comic Book adventure titled:
Nano Blasterman
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Science fiction to science lesson A high
school lesson was also developed from the best-selling science
fiction book PREY by Michael Crichton, where the teachers took
advantage of the story line to show the real science of
bio-nanotechnology and to discuss the social implications with high
school students. By addressing the story in class, it gave the
teachers an opportunity to teach discernment between real science
and science fiction and created a more informed student.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Encourage teachers to investigate options We
need to encourage teachers to investigate creative ways of sharing
knowledge with their students so that they are not just teaching to
the test. Changing our methods of teach/learn knowledge sharing in
the classrooms is necessary and the teachers can make the
difference if they are encouraged to work as teams and collaborate
with their colleagues at the local school level.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 K-12 students rate an equal priority in
Asian countries for education. Teaching Nanotechnology in Grades 1-
6 in China A perfect example of this type of teach/learn activity
was shown to us by China, who introduced Nano Science and
Nanotechnology to grades 1-6 in January 2005. Balestier Hill
Primary School introduced a nanotechnology program for all its
pupils - from Primary grades 1 to 6, and I believe it to be the
first primary school to do so.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Ideas implemented quickly in China The
school set up a $25,000 air-conditioned nano lab for 'hands-on'
experience lessons. Associate Professor Belal Baaquie, whose
daughter Tazkiah, 11, attends the school, came up with the idea.
Nanotechnology is an emerging area in science and technology, he
said. Students should be exposed to it from young - when they are
open to new ideas. The first meeting was in December, 2004. It only
took one month to build the lab and open the doors.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Nano Room in China School has the youngest
students using lab tools There are eight electron microscopes -
with X1600 resolution. This means the students can see objects the
size of a micron - which is about the size of a dust particle. Each
microscope costs about $3,000. Lab is for grades 1- 6.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 How do they teach children so young? All the
children go to the lab two or three times a week. Lessons are made
fun and simple, especially for the younger ones. Grade 1 & 2
are allowed to fiddle around with the microscopes under
supervision. They are then encouraged to talk or write stories
about their experience. So as they familiarize themselves with a
science lab and the objects found there, they are also improving
their speaking, reading and composition skills. Grade 3 & 4
learn how to construct models of atomic structures, using golf
balls and Lego sets.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Things get a little more in-depth in Grades
5 & 6. Grade 5 pupils are able to peer down microscopes to
examine a strand of hair. They are then required to record their
findings on worksheets which instills good research skills at an
early age.. The Grade 6 pupils also have to do a project on
nanotechnology. Photo shows skin on hand at 1 nano meter under an
STM. Cornell University Its a Nano World
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 No exams or tests. Instead, it becomes a
part of their syllabus by being integrated with other subjects.
This is a key factor in the success of integration of subjects.
TNTG Inc would like to expand this wonderful idea with a Virtual
Classroom online reaching children in Grades 1-6 globally.
Slide 30
TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Educational Game Platform Our next project
is the development of an education platform of a role playing game
for grades 7-12 integrating math, science, chemistry, biology, and
nano technology for space applications designed for global online
access. Students are multi-digital oriented and recent research
points to a new level of exciting learning experiences in the next
few decades.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 What Kids Learn from Video Games by Marc
Prensky Whenever one plays a game video, computer or otherwise and
whatever game one plays, learning, not just about that game but
"about life," happens constantly, whether the players want it to
and are aware of it, or not. In fact, learning "about life" is one
of the great pleasures and positive consequences of all game
playing. And it happens every time, in every game, continuously and
simultaneously, on several levels. But most adults are ignorant of
the games their kids are playing not because they want to be, but
because they are "Digital Immigrants" from a very different culture
than their "Digital Native" children.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Interactive learning The most explicit level
of learning that takes place as you play a video or computer game
is that you are learning how to do something. As you play you
learn, gradually or quickly, the moves of the game. You have
control of what goes on in the game and on the screen, unlike when
you are watching movies or TV.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Complex strategy and tactics Just as in the
other levels, there are deeper "Why" lessons that get learned from
video and computer games as well. Among these important and
valuable "real-life" lessons are: Cause and effect. Long term
winning versus short term gains. Order from seeming chaos.
Second-order consequences. Complex system behaviors
Counter-intuitive results. The value of persistence.
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Immersive learning environments One of the
great games techniques for transmitting knowledge is through
immersion. It seem that the more one feels one is actually "in" a
culture or a new environment, the more one learns from it
especially non-consciously. Language teachers especially are aware
of how much learning goes on in immersive situations, along with
science experiments and microscopy immersion in on-line labs.
Slide 35
TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Setting policy for games In a time when the
skills and interests of todays "Digital Natives" are fundamentally
different from those of their "Digital Immigrant" parents and
teachers, it makes little sense to even try to make public policy
about things like video and computer games without seriously
including the Digital Natives point of view.
Slide 36
TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 What do kids want? Kids especially todays
kids really do want to have fun its an important part of being a
kid. That is why they play thousands of hours of videogames just
ask any of them!. So whatever policies we decide to make about
video and computer games for education, and whatever educational or
social messages we try to put into them and communicate to the kids
who play them none of it will matter unless their games remain
really, really fun not from our perspective, but from theirs!
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TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Life long learning is our future Colleges
Technical Schools University K-12 Instructional materials that
teach the nano scale of science must be introduced to the primary
and secondary grades to properly develop the skill sets and
patterns for life long learning so we all know how the world works
in real-time from the bottom up and the nano to the macro!
Slide 38
TNTG Inc. (c) 2006 Thank you for your participation Support a
Project to Create a Future. The NanoTechnology Group Inc. A Global
Education Consortium www.TNTG.orgwww.TNTG.org
[email protected]@TNTG.org Judith
Light Feather, President PO Box 456, Wells, Texas 75976 Cell Ph:
830-660-0054