Quantum in the Middle: Quantum Progressions from Elementary to High School

About This Grant

As quantum information science continues to advance, it will lead to radical technological changes that require changes to the STEM education system. Significant resources have been invested in workforce development to ensure the world is prepared for the growth of the quantum industry, yet relatively little work has focused on K-12 education. This project will address the challenge of effectively engaging K-12 students in this new area and teaching them complex quantum science concepts by developing a toolkit of K-12 quantum frameworks that will serve as a guide for building student understanding of quantum concepts over time. This project will identify the alignment of content across grade levels required for teaching quantum within the disciplines of chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science. The research team will also identify multidisciplinary connections that will allow students to develop a richer understanding of quantum concepts. This project will engage ten teachers in quantum professional learning, curriculum curation, and curriculum design, and will directly impact more than 2000 K-12 students during the project's duration. To advance research in this area, the research team will work with elementary, middle, and high school teachers to identify learning progressions in quantum within and across STEM disciplines. These progressions will be used to illustrate how quantum concepts should be scaffolded across grade levels to optimize student learning from elementary to high school, and will inform curriculum development and instructional practices. Teachers will engage in iterative design cycles as they teach and revise quantum lessons and engage in lesson study with other teachers and the research team to identify and refine quantum progressions within their discipline. Data collection will be multifaceted, utilizing teacher interviews, classroom observations, and assessments of student learning. Validated measures will be used to examine student interest and classroom engagement. Data analysis methods will include statistical and qualitative analysis. Project results will be disseminated at national conferences for teachers and education researchers, through the project website and peer-reviewed publications, and at a quantum summit for regional teachers and administrators. This project is co-funded by NSF's DRK-12 and ITEST programs. The Discovery Research preK-12 program (DRK-12) seeks to significantly enhance the learning and teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by preK-12 students and teachers, through research and development of innovative resources, models, and tools. Projects in the DRK-12 program build on fundamental research in STEM education and prior research and development efforts that provide theoretical and empirical justification for proposed projects. The Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program supports projects that build understandings of practices, program elements, contexts and processes contributing to increasing students' knowledge and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and information and communication technology (ICT) careers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.