Educators
QIS KEY CONCEPTS FOR HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICS
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Quantum education at the K-12 levels is just getting started. Currently, the Q-12 community is focused on developing both informal and formal learning opportunities for teachers, students, and families. That encompasses new lessons, events, access to quantum technologies, and information about careers.
The world is in the midst of a second quantum revolution due to our ability to exquisitely control quantum systems and harness them for applications in quantum computing, communications, and sensing. Quantum information science (QIS) is an area of STEM that makes use of the laws of quantum physics for the storage, transmission, manipulation, processing, or measurement of information. After the passage of the US National Quantum Initiative Act in December 2018, the National Science Foundation and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (WHOSTP) assembled an interagency working group and subsequently facilitated a workshop titled “Key Concepts for Future Quantum Information Science Learners” that focused on identifying core concepts essential for helping pre-college students engage with QIS. The output of this workshop was intended as a starting point for future curricular and educator activities aimed at K-12 and beyond.
Helping pre-college students learn the QIS Key Concepts could effectively introduce them to the Second Quantum Revolution and inspire them to become future contributors and leaders in the growing field of QIS spanning quantum computing, communication, and sensing. The framework for K-12 quantum education outlined here is an expansion of the original QIS Key Concepts, providing a detailed route towards including QIS topics in K-12 physics, chemistry, computer science and mathematics classes. The framework will be released in sections as it is completed for each subject area. As QIS is an emerging area of science connecting multiple disciplines, content and curricula developed to teach QIS should follow the best practices.
The K-12 quantum education framework is intended to provide some scaffolding for creating future curricula and approaches to integrating QIS into physics, computer science, mathematics, and chemistry (mathematics and chemistry are not yet complete). The framework is expected to evolve over time, with input from educators and educational researchers.