Five Montana teachers will be selected to receive free tuition valued at $1,200 for “Quantum Mechanics” (Physics 513), a Montana State University online course designed for high school teachers. The program is supported by QCORE – MSU’s Applied Quantum CORE – and the Science Math Resource Center through their efforts to support education and workforce development in Montana.

Quantum Mechanics is taught by Dr. Jeremiah Bass through MSU’s Master of Science in Science Education (MSSE) program. Teachers who are chosen for the program will create a lesson plan or activity resource that can be shared with other teachers around the nation and will participate in a focus group to generate ideas for further outreach and educational activities. Teachers do not have to currently enrolled in MSSE or any MSU program.

Quotes from former Quantum Mechanics students:

"I'm not afraid to admit that I've taken many quantum classes, and this is the first time I feel like I actually have a grasp on the material. I also feel as though I can explain my own work better to laymen/students now after (just) one lecture connection. One lecture is crazy to feel connection to a field that I've struggled with for years." 

“I did well in (my undergrad quantum mechanics course) but could tell you almost nothing specific now. Why? I wasn't interested. I saw no relevance to real-world phenomena at a level that mattered to me, didn't understand how the math related to real-world phenomena well enough even to know what questions to ask, and was mostly being asked to regurgitate specific types of calculations. (Now), on the other hand, I've already kept myself up two nights pondering quantum phenomena, doing calculations in my head, and researching questions that are too abstruse to have good direct answer on the internet ... Suddenly, I have a framework for understanding what this is all about, and I can easily make enough sense of what's going on to ask a bunch of questions. This is what our students need!" 

How to apply

Applications from Montana teachers are due May 19. https://montana.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cTHeiZ1pNxu1Dee .

For questions, contact QuantumEducation@montana.edu