Second quantum revolution: The progressive design of an approach to value its cultural and conceptual scope

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Investigating and Improving Quantum Education through Research.] Quantum information science and technology is a growing field. Programs like Quantum Flagship in the EU and the National Quantum Initiative Act in the U.S. have called for science educat...

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Main Authors: S. Satanassi, O. Levrini
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2025-01-01
Series:Physical Review Physics Education Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.21.010112
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author S. Satanassi
O. Levrini
author_facet S. Satanassi
O. Levrini
author_sort S. Satanassi
collection DOAJ
description [This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Investigating and Improving Quantum Education through Research.] Quantum information science and technology is a growing field. Programs like Quantum Flagship in the EU and the National Quantum Initiative Act in the U.S. have called for science education and science education research to provide efforts and competencies for preparing the workforce and the next generations of quantum experts and promoting quantum literacy. The second quantum revolution is similar to the Newtonian one in that it has the potential to question worldviews in our society. We present our approach to design a teaching module for secondary school students that aims to value the cultural scope of the second quantum revolution. The model of educational reconstruction was used as a theoretical reference to reconstruct content for educational and cultural purposes. Renn’s elaborated historical analysis of knowledge evolution provided the criteria for characterizing the cultural scope in content reconstruction. The module has been iteratively refined following a design-based approach involving back-and-forth dynamics between educational hypotheses and empirical results. The process started in 2018, and the module was refined through 5 rounds of implementation in extracurricular courses with secondary school students (for almost 130 students). The main finding underscores the importance of finding a balance between a process of simplification or elementarization of the content and its enrichment to foster learners to develop a deep understanding of quantum technologies, their conceptual intricacies, and their cultural scope.
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spelling doaj-art-6f4e89e0270f4769b2f25e3ff9efb5262025-01-31T18:32:15ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Physics Education Research2469-98962025-01-0121101011210.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.21.010112Second quantum revolution: The progressive design of an approach to value its cultural and conceptual scopeS. SatanassiO. Levrini[This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Investigating and Improving Quantum Education through Research.] Quantum information science and technology is a growing field. Programs like Quantum Flagship in the EU and the National Quantum Initiative Act in the U.S. have called for science education and science education research to provide efforts and competencies for preparing the workforce and the next generations of quantum experts and promoting quantum literacy. The second quantum revolution is similar to the Newtonian one in that it has the potential to question worldviews in our society. We present our approach to design a teaching module for secondary school students that aims to value the cultural scope of the second quantum revolution. The model of educational reconstruction was used as a theoretical reference to reconstruct content for educational and cultural purposes. Renn’s elaborated historical analysis of knowledge evolution provided the criteria for characterizing the cultural scope in content reconstruction. The module has been iteratively refined following a design-based approach involving back-and-forth dynamics between educational hypotheses and empirical results. The process started in 2018, and the module was refined through 5 rounds of implementation in extracurricular courses with secondary school students (for almost 130 students). The main finding underscores the importance of finding a balance between a process of simplification or elementarization of the content and its enrichment to foster learners to develop a deep understanding of quantum technologies, their conceptual intricacies, and their cultural scope.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.21.010112
spellingShingle S. Satanassi
O. Levrini
Second quantum revolution: The progressive design of an approach to value its cultural and conceptual scope
Physical Review Physics Education Research
title Second quantum revolution: The progressive design of an approach to value its cultural and conceptual scope
title_full Second quantum revolution: The progressive design of an approach to value its cultural and conceptual scope
title_fullStr Second quantum revolution: The progressive design of an approach to value its cultural and conceptual scope
title_full_unstemmed Second quantum revolution: The progressive design of an approach to value its cultural and conceptual scope
title_short Second quantum revolution: The progressive design of an approach to value its cultural and conceptual scope
title_sort second quantum revolution the progressive design of an approach to value its cultural and conceptual scope
url http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.21.010112
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