Understanding the state of QIS education in the US

Transforming quantum education starts with knowing the present landscape. What courses and degrees are being offered, and who can access them? What needs do instructors identify?

Associated publications

J. Meyer, G. Passante, B. Wilcox (2024). Disparities in access to US quantum information education. Phys Rev PER (open access)

J. Meyer, G. Passante, S. Pollock, B. Wilcox (2024). Introductory quantum information science coursework at US institutions: Content coverage. EPJ Quantum Technology (open access)

J. Meyer, G. Passante, S. Pollock, B. Wilcox (2023). How media hype affects our physics teaching: A case study on quantum computing. The Physics Teacher 2023 (open access)

J. Meyer, G. Passante, S. Pollock, B. Wilcox (2022). Today’s interdisciplinary quantum information classroom: Themes from a survey of quantum information science instructors. Phys Rev PER (open access)

Ethics education in the QIS classroom

Quantum technologies pose ethical and societal questions, from militarism to cybersecurity to workforce diversity. How can we prepare students to engage meaningfully with these issues in the workforce? [In collaboration with the Quantum Ethics Project]

Associated publications

J. Arrow, S. Marsh, J. Meyer. A holistic approach to quantum ethics education. Proc. IEEE QCE 2023 (open access)

J. Meyer, N. Finkelstein, B. Wilcox. Ethics education in the quantum information science classroom: Exploring attitudes, barriers, and opportunities. Proc. ASEE Annual Conf 2022 (open access)

QIS student reasoning and cognition

How do students reason about quantum information and quantum computing? And how can we help them build more expertlike problem-solving skills? These questions are key to developing research-based instructional materials.

Associated publications

J. Meyer, G. Passante, S. Pollock, B. Wilcox. Investigating student interpretations of the differences between classical and quantum computers: Are quantum computers just analog classical computers? PERC Proc. 2022 (open access)

J. Meyer, G. Passante, S. Pollock, M. Vignal, B. Wilcox. Investigating students’ strategies for interpreting quantum states in the context of an upper-division quantum computing class.
PERC Proc. 2021 (open access)

A scalable assessment of QIS conceptual reasoning

How can we know whether our teaching is actually effective? We’re developing the Quantum Computing Conceptual Survey (QCCS) to compare student learning in postsecondary quantum computing courses across courses and institutions. We are currently collecting our second semester’s worth of pilot data!

Associated publications

Coming soon! In the meantime, refer to my Ph.D. thesis for preliminary results from the first several pilot semesters

Interested in piloting QCCS in your classroom? Use this form to send me an email!