Materials World Modules

An Inquiry & Design-Based Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Program

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  • MWM promotes STEM education
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  • MWM promotes hands-on, inquiry and design-based learning
  • MWM promotes STEM education

welcomeMWM

Materials World Modules (MWM) are hands-on, inquiry and design-based units for middle and high school students. Based on materials science and nanotechnology principles, this interdisciplinary approach engages students, adds relevance to traditional curriculum, and has been shown to improve science knowledge for all students.

» download MWM folder (PDF, 5MB)

MWM provides customized professional development workshops for teachers. Contact us for more infomation.

MWM Mission and Vision

MWM Mission and Goals

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.
  2. Meeting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS, released in 2013) through MWM's hands-on practice of scientific inquiry and engineering design - the heart of the technology R&D cycle.
  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.

 

Online Store Special Notice

Contact us by email (mwm@northwestern.edu) if you have a large and special order.

 

MWM Standards Alignment

MWM and NGSS standards

National Science (AAAS, NSES) and Math (NCTM) standards – as well as selected state Science and Math standards – have been mapped to the activities and design project(s) of most MWM modules. If you are interested in finding out whether the activities you are considering for your classroom meet the relevant standards, check out the following pages:

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 funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), and further developed under the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) and via subsequent grants from NSF, the U.S. Department of Defense and industry.

Strengths

Here are some unique strengths of the MWM program:

  • Interacts and works effectively with schools, districts, and federal agencies
  • Supported hundreds of schools, thousands of precollege teachers, and reached over 200,000 students around the world (with global reach to Mexico, Qatar, China, and Singapore)
  • Recognized by The National Research Council for its efforts to bring engineering into the U.S. curriculum (Committee on K-12 Engineering Education Report, 2009)
  • Delivers a research-driven integrated STEM program
  • Brings to the classrooms an unique inquiry and engineering design pedagogy that meets NGSS and 21st century work skill-set
  • Provides a cyber/real space interactive program with real-time assessment
  • Introduces a new approach to 21st century learning and teaching by applying horizontal and vertical integration of STEM curricula
  • Delivers latest research practices directly into middle school and high school classrooms
  • Promotes community support to boost STEM literacy, and regional workforce and economic development

Modules

MWM has produced sixteen interdisciplinary modules designed for use in middle and high school science, technology, engineering, and math classrooms. The modules describe how materials and their properties can solve global problems and transform our everyday lives. Module topics cut across science disciplines and link them to engineering, math and technology applications.

16 modules 2 weeks units

MWM Short Intro Videos

Video with English Subtitles

i-MWM Intro

pdf pngView i-MWM NSEE poster below

imwmInteractive MWM

Try our Intro to Nano online module. See your scores and activity data in real time.

MWM Overview at Youtube

Network Partners

Nanotechnology Today

29 January 2020

The U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative uses the term "nanotechnology" to describe: Research and technology development aimed to work at atomic and molecular scales
@ Materials World Modules