Relationship between Students’ Attitudes and Conceptual Knowledge in Precollege Quantum Information Science and Technology Outreach

The revolution in quantum computing has necessitated a focus on workforce development through precollege education. A university-based 25-hour quantum information science and technology (QIST) summer camp was designed for N=125 high school students to learn foundational concepts and skills in classical physics, quantum physics, and quantum computing, as well as QIST academic pathways and careers. QIST knowledge and QIST attitudes post- surveys were administered. Bivariate Pearson correlations were measured between cognitive and affective variables. Significant moderate correlations were identified between quantum physics knowledge and prior science (p=.005) and mathematics (p=.035) performance. No correlations were found between classical physics and quantum computing knowledge and prior academic performance. Moderate to strong correlations were found between classical physics and quantum physics knowledge (p=.001), classical physics and quantum computing (p=.003), and quantum physics and quantum computing (p<.001). QIST interest and QIST career aspiration development were strongly correlated to each other (p<.001), but these attitudinal variables were not related to classical physics, quantum physics, and quantum computing knowledge. This suggests quantum physics concepts may be the most challenging for students, and knowledge of these ideas best prepares students for learning quantum computing. Furthermore, attitudinal measures may be a weak proxy for QIST learning.