| The field of nanochemistry is at the forefront of the physical sciences, and is increasingly finding diverse applications. As such, there is a need to allow this frontier to be explored thoroughly in undergraduate chemistry curricula. The development of new instructional materials is necessary, as the existing literature in undergraduate nanochemistry education does not provide instructors with adequate resources to help students make connections between core scientific concepts and those pertinent to the nanoscale. As such, we aim to treat nanoscale phenomena not as a niche subject but as an educationally rich portion of chemistry at the interface of discrete and bulk structures. To accomplish this, we have developed and tested instructional materials that are designed to fit directly into the chemistry curriculum and provide instructors with the flexibility to incorporate them in their courses. These teaching tools/modules have been designed using a theoretical framework for analogy and similarity coupled with a bridging framework in order to reinforce students' physical and chemical concepts and facilitate their recognition of such in the context of nanochemistry. Our approach is to construct concepts related to nanochemistry by tethering them directly, through the use of analogy and similarity, to material commonly covered within the courses, rather than present them in an unrelated fashion or completely outside the students' current frame of reference. Assessment of these tools has been carried out through a qualitative analysis incorporating a discourse analytical framework applied to individual student interviews and small group discussions. A coding scheme was devised and utilized for consistent characterization of students' responses and discussions. Results are discussed critically and pedagogical implications for each activity and the project as a whole are provided. |
