Qubit by Qubit: Creating Accessible and Inclusive Quantum Education for High School Students

Significant technical progress has been made in the field of quantum computing (QC) in recent years. Current K-12 students will be impacted by these developments and literacy in the underlying concepts, especially for students from underrepresented groups, is critical. However, limited K-12 education - and subsequent research - exists in this space. In this talk, The Coding School’s Qubit by Qubit team will discuss its outreach strategy for reaching underrepresented minorities, inclusive program design, and quantum computing curriculum content accessible at the high school level. We present the results of two introductory, high-school level QC educational initiatives: an intensive 1-week, 300 student summer program and an ongoing 8,000 student, 8-month introductory course. Over 50% of participating students come from underrepresented backgrounds. We present an analysis of students’ prior QC knowledge, attitudes towards QC, and key aspects of programming they find useful. Furthermore, we break down attitudes and interest in QC by math, physics, and programming skill level and knowledge.