Quantum Education: Policies, Pathways, and Practices

In the US, while quantum-related concepts appear in formal currcula outside of physics, quantum mechanics and quantum information science is mostly confined to upper division coursework. During the last five years there has been a push to change this, and introduce foundational quantum information principles earlier and more broadly across scientific disciplines. This movement has been tightly linked to federal legislative actions and an increased interest among state leaders, industry, and educational institutions. While there is little data on student and teacher interest and knowledge at the early stages, there appears to be a corresponding uptick in general engagement among these groups. At present, much of the readily available resources created in response to the changing landscape focus on informal learning, but this is expected to shift as curricular materials are researched and tested for efficacy. In this talk I will summarize the evolution of pre-college quantum education and public engagement related to quantum information science, and discuss challenges in scaling. I will also provide an overview of QuanTime, a National Q-12 Education Partnership program we launched to curate community resources and create scaffolding for educators interested in quantum concepts.