2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

(WIP) Building the Quantum Pipeline in Middle School: A Curriculum Design and Implementation Study

Presented at Pre-College Engineering Education Division (PCEE) Technical Session 8

The increasing relevance of quantum science in modern engineering fields, such as quantum computing and information processing, has prompted national calls to produce a quantum-ready workforce. While many U.S. universities have offered undergraduate quantum courses and acknowledged the importance of quantum education, efforts to build a robust educational pipeline have largely overlooked K-12 education. To explore the potential of a quantum education pipeline, this work-in-progress paper presents an exploratory study of the design and implementation of a science curriculum that introduces foundational quantum concepts to 6th-grade students. The curriculum integrates two core quantum topics (i.e., wave-particle duality and energy quantization) into the existing 6th-grade academic standards. The curriculum consists of three modules that guide students from an exploration of the classical properties of light to an understanding of its particle and wave nature, ultimately leading to the concept of wave-particle duality. The curriculum was implemented by two middle school teachers in their classrooms in the Midwestern United States with a total of 201 students. To evaluate the curriculum’s impact on student learning, we employed a pre-test/post-test research design. We designed an assessment consisting of 9 items to measure learning outcomes in both the targeted quantum concepts and the related physical science topics covered in the standard curriculum. A paired-samples t-test showed that students’ total scores significantly increased from pre-test (M = 2.015) to post-test (M = 3.445), t(199) = 11.876, p < .001. This result provides early evidence for the feasibility of introducing foundational quantum science in middle school and suggests that quantum concepts can be integrated into existing science instruction without disrupting core content.

Authors

Ms. Jiwon Lai Kim http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4209-0991 Purdue University – West Lafayette (College of Engineering) [biography]

Jiwon Kim is a Ph.D. student at the School of Engineering Education, Purdue University. She earned her M.Sc. in Informatics (emphasis in Human-Computer Interaction) and B.Sc. in Earth Science Education, both from Seoul National University. Her research interests include engineering/science education, integrated STEM education, and engineering for K-12 students. Currently participating in the IQ-PARC project with Dr. Muhsin Menekse, she focuses on developing and evaluating quantum science curricula for middle school students by actively collaborating with teachers.
Dr. Muhsin Menekse Purdue University – West Lafayette (College of Engineering) [biography]

Muhsin Menekse is an Associate Professor at Purdue University with a joint appointment in the School of Engineering Education and the Department of Curriculum & Instruction. Dr. Menekse's primary research focuses on exploring K-16 students' engagement and learning of engineering and science concepts by creating innovative instructional resources and conducting interdisciplinary quasi-experimental research studies in and out of classroom environments. Dr. Menekse is the recipient of the 2014 William Elgin Wickenden Award by the American Society for Engineering Education. He is also selected as an NSF SIARM fellow for the advanced research methods for STEM education research. Dr. Menekse received four Seed-for-Success Awards (in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021) from Purdue University's Excellence in Research Awards programs in recognition of obtaining four external grants of $1 million or more during each year. His research has been generously funded by grants from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Purdue Research Foundation (PRF), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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