Resources for Teaching and Learning in Materials Education
Resource Collection
The Materials Subject Centre is in the process of building up a library
of resources to support teaching and learning of materials. We are collecting
resources and reviews that are currently available, plus where there are
obvious gaps we are inviting academics to contribute to this collection,
for which small grants may be available.
The types of resources that we envisage might be useful to academics
include:
- Ideas for case studies of innovative teaching practices. For example,
many departments are moving towards incorporating more project based
work in their programmes, ideas to support this could be shared. We
have established a small grant scheme to help this effort.
- Reviews of software e.g. MATTER, Cambridge Materials Selector, and
text books.
- Accumulation of a library of video and photographic resource material
for teaching use. Initially this would be on conventional media but
we expect that all material will be available across the web at some
point in the future.
- Development of a library of lecture demonstrations and laboratory
experiments. Most lecturers have developed a very small number of successful
classroom demonstrations and laboratory experiments. This has been achieved
in a fairly primitive form in the USA by J A Jacobs (Experiments in
Material Science, CD-ROM).
- Development of a reviewed list of potential industrial visits. Most
departments try to give their students some experience of industrial
processes and laboratories but it is not easy in all parts of the country,
to find suitable (welcoming and technically rewarding) sites to visit.
Shared experience would be very helpful.
Useful sources
Examples of useful web-based resources for teaching and learning materials
at various educational levels include:
Undergraduate level
- www.matter.org.uk
Web-site from the MATTER team providing highly interactive resources
for undergraduate studies in ferrous metallurgy, diffraction and solidification.
Also gives details of 'Materials Science on CD-ROM'.
- www.umist.ac.uk/material/research/intmic
Internet microscope from the Manchester Materials Science Centre which
provides quality micrographs of many different materials. It provides
an image library that aims to duplicate the feel of a real microscope.
All samples can be seen from low to high magnification, each supported
by descriptive text.
Post 16 - 18
- www-materials.eng.cam.ac.uk/mpsite
Web-site providing resources to aid the understanding of materials and
material processing for engineering from the University of Cambridge,
University of Manchester and TEP. Provides case studies: notably a 13A
plug case study.
School level
- www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/challenge/index.asp
A gallery of web-site about materials from the Science Museum aimed
at stimulating the interest of younger pupils in materials that surround
us.
- www.matter.org.uk/schools
Web-site from the MATTER team providing interactive resources designed
to assist teachers and students of physical sciences at both 11-16
and A-level.
General interest
- post16.iop.org/shaping/psm.html
The IOP web-site gives details of a series of booklets intended to promote
debate about the way forward for physics education in schools and colleges.
This resource looks specifically at issues for materials education.
Small grant scheme
The Centre has funds available with which to support the compilation
of case studies of innovative teaching practice. We are also bidding for
further funds to encourage academics to engage in small education development
projects.
If you are currently engaged in developing innovative teaching practice
and are interested in producing a written case study of your practice
please contact us. These case studies will be included in a guide to 'Innovative
Practice in Materials Education', which will be disseminated to all departments.
The Materials Subject Centre will pay up to £500 per selected case
study.
