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Welcome to the temporary webpage* for QuEST @ Stony Brook University QuEST SBU

We acknowledge the support from the National Science Foundation (NSF ITEST 2148467). The PI of the project is Angela Kelly and co-PI's are Dominik Schneble and Tzu-Chieh Wei (all three are faculty at Stony Brook University), and we collaborate with Katherine Culp at the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI).


*(a more professional website is being planned)
Overview
The proposed project, Quantum Education for Students and Teachers (QuEST), a Developing and Testing Innovations partnership between Stony Brook University (SBU) and New York Hall of Science (NYSCI), will advance quantum education, physical science literacy, and the diversity the STEM pipeline through improved quantum science and quantum computing access, teaching, and learning for precollege (grades 8-12) students. Middle and high school science teachers are also key stakeholders and will attend professional development in quantum science instruction, quantum computing applications, and career pathways. QuEST will provide activities in both university (SBU) and informal learning (NYSCI) settings.

Intellectual Merit
QuEST will advance knowledge in quantum science and computing education by assessing and refining programs to improve quantum science teaching and learning, building student passion and confidence in quantum computing. Research activities are aligned with the overarching goals of I-TEST: Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers, including (1) the development of quantum science content knowledge and quantum computing practices that promote critical thinking, reasoning, and communication skills; and (2) increased student awareness, interest, and knowledge of quantum computing careers and academic pathways. The rigorous research plan will measure both immediate and longitudinal cognitive and affective outcomes for middle and high school students and teachers.

QuEST will employ two approaches. First, the program in quantum teaching laboratories, QuEST Lab, will recruit middle and high school students to participate in quantum science and computing activities, and learning about career pathways in quantum technologies. Strategies include school day and summer activities in quantum science disciplines for diverse students (200 secondary students annually at SBU (n=100) and NYSCI (n=100), 50% young women, 50% from high need schools). Secondly, the program in quantum science and quantum computing professional development, EduQation, will recruit middle and high school teachers from New York State (N=40 annually, 50% from high need schools, 5000 students affected indirectly each year) to participate in site-based quantum science workshops that focus on conceptual learning, applications, and quantum industry career awareness.

Broader Impacts QuEST will develop and research practices in precollege informal quantum science and computing instruction that are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013), and measure student and teacher outcomes in terms of cognitive and affective domains. The broader impacts of this work relate to increased introductory quantum science and computing participation for students from diverse backgrounds who may not have equitable access due to restricted school resources, lack of science course offerings, and limited teacher knowledge about core quantum principles and applications. Students and teachers will participate in program activities, with 50% of participants recruited from high need schools. In QuEST Lab, quantum science conceptual learning and corresponding quantum computing laboratory experiences will relate physical science principles and scientific skills to modern technological advances, which will enhance middle and high school students’ knowledge, skills, sociocognitive domains, STEM career interests, and intentional academic behaviors (800 students in four years, 50% young women). EduQation will incorporate middle and high school science teacher professional development in quantum science principles; this will result in a multiplicative effect on student learning as these teachers implement quantum science and computing in formal physical science instruction (160 teachers in four years, 20,000 students impacted indirectly). Science teachers will improve their disciplinary content knowledge, ability to differentiate classical and quantum concepts, comprehension of technological advances in quantum industries, and understanding of how to educate and advise students about quantum career pathways.

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Activities: We have held several activities and there are other activies to be planned in the future.

There are three major types of activities we offer: (1) Summer Camps for high-school students (usually in June/July and August): one at SBU and one at NYSCI; this is a week-long event with lectures, demos, hands-on activities to teach students quantum information science; (2) QuEST Day Lab: a high-school STEM teacher brings his/her whole class to visit Stony Brook or NYSCI for one-day activities; (3) EduQation: a four-night event (spanning four weeks) for high-school teachers to learn quantum information science and to develop their own curriculum.

We are very excited to work with students of motivation to learn new subjects and teachers of dedications to their teaching! We also thank our undergraduate and graduate students who participate in helping all the events (This in turn provides them an opportunity for training them to get engated in outreach and education, which aligns with one of the goals of NSF).


QuEST's Summer Camp.

2024 (two 5-day camps in June/July and August)

@NYSCI (8/19-8/23): 60 high-school students!

@SBU (6/27,6/28,7/1,7/2,7/3)

QuEST Summer Camp 2024 @SBUQuEST camp 2023 @NYSCIQuEST camp 2023 @NYSCI


2023
The 2nd QuEST Summer Camp was held at New York Hall of Science Museum from August 21st to August 25th, 2023; 9:30am to 2:30pm in the classroom downstairs.We made minor tweaking of the materials and activities. Given that the location is at NYSCI, we took the advantage of the exhibitions there and the museum staff offered guided tours for students. This replaced the lab tour.

The first QuEST Summer Camp was held at Stony Brook University's Department of Physics and Astronomy from June 26th to June 30th, 2023. Location was Physics A119 Lab and camp hours were 9:30am to 2:30pm. (PI Kelly, Co-PI Wei, Co-PI Schneble, six graduate and two undergraduate students, and N=31 students in grades 10-12). Notably, 17 of the 31 camp participants were young women. This camp incorporated the major themes addressed in the teacher professional development workshop. There were additional sessions on academic planning, QIST careers, Q&A panel with QIST graduate students, and laboratory tours.


QuEST's Teachers' Workshop

2024 at SBU (May 14, 21, 28 and June 4)

2023 at NYSCI (Nov and Dec)

Spring 2023 at SBU. A four-part professional development series (PI Kelly, Co-PI Wei, Co-PI Schneble, graduate students, and N=19 middle and high school physical science and computer science teachers). Three-hour meetings were held one evening per week for four weeks (May 18 - June 8). This was our first comprehensive workshop on quantum information science and technology (QIST), which also included curriculum planning and topics related to academic and career pathways in QIST fields. The four major themes of the workshop were: (1) Building Blocks of Quantum Physics, (2) Quantum Ideas: From Superposition to Entanglement, (3) Quantum Computing Fundamentals, and (4) QIST Pedagogy and Curriculum Development. We specificially tested the planned set of materials on teachers first before we adapted the materials and held the first two one-week summer camps for students (later in summer 2023).

EduQation: Teachers' Professional Development @SBU 2024EduQation: Teachers' Professional Development @SBU 2024EduQation 2023 @NYSCI

QuEST's Quantum Lab

2024 (May) @ NYSCI
2024 (Feb,March) @SBU
2023 (Dec) @SBU

Quantum Lab 2023 @SBUQuantum Lab 2023 @SBU
 

QuEST's Teachers' Pilot Workshop

Februrary 20, 2023. We held a pilot full-day professional development (PI Kelly, Co-PI Wei, Co-PI Schneble, graduate students, and N=6 middle and high school physical science and mathematics teachers), held in person. We tested lectures and activities related to the quantum bits and IBM Quantum Composer. We specifically elicited feedback from mathematics teachers to assess the limits of students’ mathematical knowledge as it may relate to matrix multiplication and linear algebra.

November 1, 2022. We held a pilot full-day professional development (PI Kelly, Co-PI Wei, Co-PI Schneble, graduate students, and N=8 middle and high school physical science teachers), held in person. In this workshop, we tested lectures and activities related to diffraction, superposition, and polarization, which are prior knowledge useful to have before venturing in quantum physics and quantum information science.

QuEST Focus Group

August 29, 2022. We organized a one-hour meeting with a few middle and high school physical science teachers, in which we discussed where quantum concepts fit within college-prep and Advanced Placement Physics and Chemistry coursework. This meeting provided contextual information on how to structure the professional development workshops for teachers. The information also included the typical mathematical preparation of students, curricular sequencing, and student misconceptions.

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Materials

To be added soon

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Some Useful Links:

1.  PhET Simulations: Wave Interference‬ (colorado.edu)
2.  Young's double-slit experiment with single photons: link is here
3.  Mathematica Cloud for Bloch vectors [this link expires 3 months after 8/19/2024]
4.  Mathematica Cloud to Simulate Rotation of vectors on Bloch sphere [this link expires 3 months after 8/19/2024]
5.  IBM Quantum Composer: Documentation and Composer;   Go directly to Quantum Composer
6.  Verify graphically the arrow in the Bloch sphere (by dragging the values on the Mathematica simulator according to the output state vector from Composer) [this link expires 3 months after 8/20/2024]
7.  QKD video: link is here
8.  Link to QED-C quantum jobs page: is here
9.  Link ot Quantum Computing Report is here

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Publications/Dissemination

Darienzo, M.,* Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C., & Schneble, D. (accepted). Students attitudes towards quantum information science and technology in a high school outreach program. Physical Review Physics Education Research.

Darienzo, M.,* Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C., & Schneble, D. (under review). Quantum information science and technology professional learning for secondary STEM teachers. Physical Review Physics Education Research.

Schneble, D., Wei, T. C., & Kelly, A. M. (under review). Quantum information science and technology secondary outreach: Conceptual progressions for introducing principles and programming skills. American Journal of Physics.


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Presentations/Meetings/Dissemintation

Darienzo, M.,* Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C., & Schneble, D. (2025, March 22-25). Qualitative Analysis of Precollege Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Teaching Quantum Information Science and Technology [Paper presentation]. National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Washington, DC, United States.   (submitted)

DeLaCruz, R.,* Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C., Schneble, D., & Darienzo, M.* (2025, March 22-25). Measuring High School Student Knowledge of Quantum Information Science and Technology in University-Based Outreach [Paper presentation]. National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Washington, DC, United States.   (submitted)

Zinn, A.,* Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C., Schneble, D., & Darienzo, M.* (2025, March 22-25). Teacher Knowledge of Quantum Information Science and Technology and Pedagogical Self-Efficacy [Paper presentation]. National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Washington, DC, United States.  (submitted)

Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C., & Schneble, D. (2024, September 26-27). Factor Analysis of Science Teacher Self-Efficacy in Teaching Quantum Information Science & Technology [Conference presentation]. Northeast Association of Science Teacher Education, SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz, NY, United States   (accepted)

Darienzo, M.,* & Kelly, A. M. (under review). Review of Literature on Quantum Information Science and Technology Programs for High School Students [Paper presentation]. Quantum Science and Engineering Education Conference (QSEEC24), Montreal, QC, Canada.

Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C., Schneble, D., & Darienzo, M.* (2024, July 18-20). Cognitive and Affective Experiences of Precollege Women in Quantum Information Science and Technology Outreach [Conference presentation]. Network Gender & STEM Conference, Heidelberg University, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany.

Kelly, A. M. (2024, June 7). Quantum Information Science and Technology: Emerging Academic and Career Opportunities [Invited presentation]. Eastern Suffolk BOCES, Patchogue, NY, United States.

Kelly, A. M. (2024, May 16). Quantum Information Science and Technology: Emerging Discoveries and Academic and Career Opportunities [Invited presentation]. Freeport Public Schools, Freeport, NY, United States.

Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C., & Schneble, D. (2024, May 5-7). Quantum Education for Students and Teachers: An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Analysis [Conference presentation]. National Science Foundation I-TEST PI Meeting, Alexandria, VA, United States.

Kelly, A. M. (2024, April 4). The Power of Intersectionality for Removing Barriers in STEM at Hispanic Serving Institutions [Invited panel discussion]. CUNY Dominican Studies Institute at the City College of New York, NY, United States.

Darienzo, M.,* Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C., & Schneble, D. (2024, March 17-20). Professional Development for Improving Precollege Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Teaching Quantum Information Science and Technology [Paper presentation]. Annual Conference of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Denver, CO, United States.

Kelly, A. M., Darienzo, M.,* Wei, T. C., & Schneble, D. (2024, March 17-20). Improving High School Students’ Attitudes Towards Quantum Information Science and Technology in a Summer Program [Paper presentation]. Annual Conference of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Denver, CO, United States.

Perret, B., Ragusa, G., Tofel-Grehl, C., Hansen, T., Colston, N., Asino, T., Chandrasekara, T., Flanagan, C., Gallay, E., Pykett, A., Diemer, M., Berdelli, E., Rafanan, K., Zhang, H., Shah, S. A., Phatak, J., Barnett, M., Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C., & Schneble, D. (2024, March 17-20). Building Culturally Sustaining Projects and Partnerships to Support Science for the “Rest of Us” [Symposium]. National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Denver, CO, United States.

Kelly, A. M., Schneble, D., Wei, T. C., & Darienzo, M.* (2024, March 3-7). Conceptual and Mathematical Challenges in Quantum Information Science & Technology Outreach [Conference presentation]. American Physical Society March Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, United States.

Kelly, A. M. (2024, February 20). Designing Quantum Information Science and Technology (QIST) Professional Learning [Invited presentation]. National Q-12 Education Partnership Virtual Meeting.

Kelly, A. M. (2024, January 17). Theory of Change and Logic Model Webinar. [Invited presentation]. National Science Foundation and STEM Learning and Research Center (STELAR), Arlington, VA, United States.

Kelly, A. M., Schneble, D., Wei, T. C., & Darienzo, M.* (2024, January 6-8). Development of a Quantum Information Science and Technology Concept Inventory [Conference presentation]. American Association of Physics Teachers, New Orleans, LA, United States.

Kelly, A. M. (2023, November 2). Quantum Education Outreach for Precollege Students and Teachers [Invited presentation]. Research in Quantum Computing and Networks Workshop, Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Stony Brook University, New York, NY, United States. https://www.cs.stonybrook.edu/QuantumWorkshop

Kelly, A. M., Wei, T. C. (presenter), & Schneble, D. (2023, September 28-29). Developing Science Teacher Knowledge in Quantum Information Science & Technology [Conference presentation]. Annual Conference of the Northeast Association of Science Teacher Education, SUNY Cortland, Cortland, New York, NY, United States. https://ne.theaste.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/09/wo-links-2023-NE-ASTE-Program-Conference.pdf

Kelly, A. M., Zapf, V., Ledbetter, A., Ma, A. R., & Economou, S. (2023, September 13). Second Act: Faculty and Academics New to QIS Research Session [Invited panel discussion]. Quantum Information Science Career Fair, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, United States. https://www.bnl.gov/nqisrccareerfair/files/pdf/agenda.pdf

Preliminary results of the project have been shared informally at several bimonthly meetings of the National Q-12 Education Partnership, which is chaired by Emily Edwards at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. We were invited to share teacher feedback from our professional development workshops at their August 2023 meeting (8/18/2023) via Zoom.


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News

10/25/2022 QuEST Project Increases Pre-College Exposure to Quantum Information Science

Project Profile---QuEST: Quantum Education for Students and Teachers


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Year of Quantum Conferences

We will host two conferences for high-school teachers and administrators in 2025, the year of Quantum. More information to follow, which are also supported by the National Science Foundation.

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