Catalyst Project: Broadening Participation in Quantum Information Science and Engineering through Culturally-Relevant Experiential Learning

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Catalyst Projects provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to work towards establishing research capacity of faculty to strengthen science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate education and research. It is expected that the award will further the faculty member's research capability, improve research and teaching at the institution, and involve undergraduate students in research experiences. This award to North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (NCAT) aims to broaden participation of students underrepresented in STEM, particularly in quantum information sciences, to contribute to a more diverse and quantum-proficient workforce. Utilizing a combination of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) and experiential learning activities, the research team seeks to examine approaches to increase the interest in quantum information science and engineering (QISE) among students enrolled at NCAT, a historically black university. Efforts will be made to identify and relieve barriers and leverage facilitators to spark and cultivate student interest in QISE-related careers. Specifically, CRP will be infused into experiential activities in collaboration with external industry partners (e.g., IBM, Google, the IBM-HBCU Quantum Coalition, and new local start-up QC companies). This project will engage educators in their design of creative activities that bridge content knowledge to students’ lived experiences, engage students in authentic practices, and measure the extent to which participating students demonstrate increased self-efficacy and interest in joining the quantum computing workforce. It is anticipated that the outcomes of this project will identify both the barriers and facilitators of choosing QISE as a career choice, as well as detect the efficacy of CRP and experiential learning activities in relieving the barriers and leveraging the facilitators to broaden participation in this new computing paradigm.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.