Materials Science as a High School Capstone Course for the Physics First Curriculum

摘要

By changing the high school science curriculum from Freshman Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics (BCP); to Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (PCB), we have an opportunity to create a new Senior level science elective. The entire high school science core curriculum has been reviewed and parts rewritten to create a coherent, integrated program based on common themes such as energy, particulate nature of matter, and forces. Nanoconcepts including size and scale and surface area to volume ratio are integrated where appropriate. In our school, we began PCB during the 2008-2009 academic year. In anticipation of these students becoming upperclassmen, a capstone elective course of Materials Science has been developed based on scientific models and literacies shaped in the PCB course sequence. Deployment of this new model-centered course is set for the 2010-2011 school year.