Abstract

In order to get more people, especially those under-represented in the technical fields, to discover careers in light-enabling technologies, more schools must make a greater effort at an earlier age to provide qualified instruction in these areas. The hardest part of creating new curriculum is the process of establishing its credibility.

Aligning new photonics curriculum with National Science Education Standards is the most logical way to do this. Integrating optics and photonic activities that align with these established standards into the normal science curriculum allows for the measurement of student performances against these standards. This paper is about teaching strategies that use these standards to create new photonics activities and incorporate them into the K-16 classroom. It also addresses using these strategies to design classroom activities and assessments that lead to students' successful demonstration of these standards.

© 2001 Optical Society of America