$600,000 from the National Science Foundation will fund a three-year WPI program to prepare 30 high school STEM teachers nationwide to teach quantum information science and cybersecurity.
WPI chose a teacher-training model rather than direct student instruction, aiming to bring complex emerging technologies into more classrooms by equipping educators with research experience and ready-to-use curriculum.
10 teachers a year will complete online coursework and a six-week summer program covering instruction, research training, project planning and curriculum development.
The project will also study how AI tools and gamification can improve teaching in both subjects, while keeping graduates connected in a national educator network.
The initiative extends WPI researchers Jun Dai and Xiaoyan Sun's earlier federally funded cybersecurity education work, including GenCyber teacher camps and the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy.