Advancing Quantum Sensing and Metrology Education: Concepts, Curricula, and Research on Student Learning

该项目旨在通过改善量子信息科学（QIS）主题的教学和学习来服务于国家利益，量子信息科学是一个对美国经济和国家安全至关重要的日益增长的跨学科领域。该项目将侧重于量子传感和计量学（测量）。《国家量子倡议法案》（2018年）将量子技术确立为国家优先事项。量子系统及其独特的行为将导致计算，通信和传感方面的重大改进。为了充分发挥这些技术的潜力并保持在该领域的领导地位，美国需要教育资源，使STEM领域的学生能够开发，制造和应用这些技术。在三个量子应用领域（计算，通信/网络和传感）中，量子传感在课程开发中受到的关注最少，部分原因是传感器代表了更多样化的物理系统和应用。本项目将试图填补课程中的这一空白。研究人员将追求三个目标：（1）通过与专家的访谈，确定量子传感和计量学的主要思想和学习成果。(2)开发灵活和适应性强的课程材料（例如，课程计划，主动学习教程，点击问题和家庭作业问题），这些问题与学习成果保持一致，并在几个机构进行了测试。(3)对学生的学习进行基础研究，以发现共同的困难，并发现来自不同STEM领域的学习者在学习量子传感时如何最有效地利用他们的先验知识。教育研究问题包括两个基本概念（例如，专家如何定义传感的核心思想和模型？）以及更多应用主题（例如，学生可以建立哪些富有成效的想法，以及他们在学习量子传感时面临哪些学习困难？）。该项目的产品将包括一套量子测量和传感的核心思想和学习成果;一套灵活和适应性强的课程材料，可应用于跨学科的QIS课程，传感工程课程和量子力学物理课程;以及量子教育工作者和教育研究人员关于学生学习量子传感的出版物。NSF IUSE：EDU计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生的STEM教育的有效性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving the teaching and learning of topics in Quantum Information Science (QIS), a growing interdisciplinary area that is important to the U.S. economy and national security. The project will focus on quantum sensing and metrology (measurement). The National Quantum Initiative Act (2018) established quantum technology as a national priority. Quantum systems and their unique behaviors will lead to significant improvements in computing, communication, and sensing. To realize the full potential of these technologies and maintain leadership in the area, the United States needs educational resources that prepare students in STEM fields to develop, manufacture, and apply these technologies. Of the three quantum application areas (computing, communication/networking, and sensing), quantum sensing has received the least attention within curriculum development, partly because sensors represent a more diverse range of physical systems and applications. This project will attempt to fill this gap in the curriculum.The investigators will pursue three goals: (1) Define major ideas and learning outcomes for quantum sensing and metrology through interviews with experts. (2) Develop flexible and adaptable curricular materials (e.g., lesson plans, active-learning tutorials, clicker questions, and homework problems) that are aligned with the learning outcomes and tested across several institutions. (3) Conduct foundational research on students' learning to discover common difficulties and discover how learners from different STEM fields can most effectively use their prior knowledge when learning about quantum sensing. The education research questions encompass both fundamental ideas (e.g., How do experts define the core ideas and models for sensing?) and more applied topics (e.g., What productive ideas can students build on and what learning difficulties do they face as they learn quantum sensing?). Products of the project will include a set of core ideas and learning outcomes for quantum measurement and sensing; a set of flexible and adaptable curricular materials that can be applied in interdisciplinary QIS courses, engineering courses on sensing, and physics courses on quantum mechanics; and publications for quantum educators and education researchers about students' learning of quantum sensing. The NSF IUSE: EDU program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through its Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.