Building Bridges in Quantum Information Science Education: Expert Insights to Guide Framework Development for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Evolution of Common Language

TL;DR

This paper explores expert insights on developing interdisciplinary quantum information science education, emphasizing language, abstraction levels, and student engagement to guide curriculum frameworks for diverse learners.

Contribution

It provides a framework based on expert interviews to improve interdisciplinary QIST teaching, addressing language, abstraction, and student motivation challenges.

Findings

Emergence of unifying linguistic terms like 'qubits' and 'measurement bases'

Challenges in balancing abstraction and physical details in teaching

Importance of considering students' diverse backgrounds

Abstract

The rapid growth of quantum information science and technology (QIST) presents unique educational challenges as it brings together students and researchers from many disciplines. This work presents findings from in-depth interviews with leading quantum researchers who are also educators, whose perspectives provide guidance for developing a framework for interdisciplinary QIST teaching and builds on our earlier paper that focused on QIST courses and curricula. We discuss their reflections on three critical aspects of QIST education: (1) the development of a common interdisciplinary language, (2) determining appropriate levels of abstraction and physical detail for students from various disciplines, and (3) why students should pursue courses, degrees, and careers in this field. Our analysis reveals that the emergence of linguistic evolutions such as "qubits" and "measurement bases", rather than a focus on measurement of physical observables and their corresponding Hermitian operators, has begun to create a unifying framework that transcends disciplinary boundaries. Nevertheless, educators face ongoing challenges in balancing the level of abstractness with physical details as well as mathematical rigor with conceptual accessibility. The experts emphasize that successful QIST education for an interdisciplinary student body not only requires a shift from traditional quantum mechanics pedagogy for physics majors, but careful consideration of students' diverse prior conceptual and mathematical foundations. They highlighted that students have the unique historical opportunity to participate in creating transformative quantum technologies while developing transferable skills for an evolving technological landscape. These findings provide valuable guidance for developing a framework for interdisciplinary QIST teaching especially useful for foundational courses.