|  The Center for Polymer Studies at Boston University offers
various Teacher Professional Development workshops for science teachers
on the Virtual Molecular Dynamics Laboratory.
There is a startling
discrepancy between the mental models of microscopic processes possessed
by students and those possessed by research scientists. In many courses,
students are asked to learn about and believe in a macroscopic world
without any direct information on which to base their belief. Research
scientists, on the other hand, have a mental model in which macroscopic
events are understood in terms of the microscopic behavior of a huge
number of individual particles. Our Virtual Molecular Dynamics
Laboratory addresses this problem by providing a set of
research-based molecular dynamics software tools and project-based
curriculum guides. Our modeling tools enable the student to visualize
atomic and molecular motion, manipulate atomic interactions, and
quantitatively investigate the resulting macroscopic properties of a
range of biological, chemical and physical systems.
If you are interested in workshops or professional development,
please email Paul Trunfio.
|
|
