TRAINING IN NANOTECHNOLOGY FOR BASIC EDUCATION: ACTIONS AND PERSPECTIVES OF THE LIFENANO-IFSP PROJECT

Abstract

Among the challenges and initiatives aiming the improvement of teaching in several areas of knowledge in basic education, the enhancement of the formation of teachers plays a key role. Both the Brazilian government and the academic community have debated about this. Innovative methodological approaches devoted to contemporary topics of science are still incipient. This occurs in Brazil as well as in other Iberian American countries. In these conditions, the use of collaborative strategies is necessary towards the diffusion and the education in nanoscience and nanotechnology. This work presents actions and perspectives of the laboratory for the interdisciplinary formation of teachers in nanoscience and nanotechnology in the countryside of the State of Sao Paulo, in Brazil. It has been shown how this laboratory interacts with an institutional program of fellowships for teaching apprenticeship that is supported by the Brazilian Federal Government. Finally, the motivations of the participating students and the contributions of the laboratory to an international network devoted to the diffusion and education in nanoscience and nanotechnology are discussed.