- What Are the Social Implications of Our Delay in Teaching Nanoscience Education to K–12 Students in the United States?

Introduction ......................................................................................................... 263 Investment in Nanotechnology R&D ...............................................................264 Ethical Relevance Concerning Our Failing Schools ....................................... 265Top-Down Management of the Education System .................................... 267 Why All Students Need to Learn About Nanoscale Science .................... 271 Nanoscale Science: What It Is ....................................................................... 271Case Study 1: A New Conceptual Framework for K-12 Science Education ............................................................................................................. 272Curriculum and Instructional Materials ..................................................... 272 Organizational Issues .................................................................................... 273 Scenario for Case Study 1 .............................................................................. 274Case Study 2: Benchmarks for Inclusion of Nanoscale Science in New Standards .............................................................................................................. 275Inherent Risks of Current Complacency ..................................................... 275 Can K-12 Students Learn NSE? .............................................................. 276 Are Nanoscale Concepts Important to Science Education? ................ 276 Do We Have Good NSE Content for the Classrooms? ......................... 276Recommendations From the Report on Standards of Learning (SOL)...277 Recommendations From the Report on K-12 Curricula and Teaching Aids .................................................................................................. 278 Recommendations From the Report on K-12 Teacher Education and Training .................................................................................................... 279 Scenario for Case Study 2 ..............................................................................280Case Study 3: Global Comparative Efforts to Include NSE for K-12 ..........280 Taiwan ..............................................................................................................280 Australia ..........................................................................................................283 Europe ..............................................................................................................285