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This study reports the findings of a two-year intensive professional development (PD) program situated in the northeastern United States for secondary mathematics and science teachers to support them in transforming their STEM instruction to incorporate SocioScientific Issues (SSI). This PD focused on developing units of study that integrated student-centered, authentic learning experiences grounded in social justice issues. Findings indicate that after participation in the USTRIVE project, teachers displayed growth in their ability to incorporate components of the instructional framework for SSI introduced in the PD into their teaching. This is consistent with previous research that SSI-focused PD can increase teachers’ knowledge of, and teaching practices toward SSI, resulting in more meaningful STEM learning experiences for students. As such, the USTRIVE PD model and framework may provide a useful guide for other SSI and social justice PD programs. Connections of these findings to student engagement, teachers learning, and challenges encountered in SSI implementation are explored. 

Abstract Applications of quantum information science (QIS) generally rely on the generation and manipulation of qubits. Still, there are ways to envision a device with a continuous readout, but without the entangled states. This concise perspective includes a discussion on an alternative to the qubit, namely the solid-state version of the Mach–Zehnder interferometer, in which the local moments and spin polarization replace light polarization. In this context, we provide some insights into the mathematics that dictates the fundamental working principles of quantum information processes that involve molecular systems with large magnetic anisotropy. Transistors based on such systems lead to the possibility of fabricating logic gates that do not require entangled states. Furthermore, some novel approaches, worthy of some consideration, exist to address the issues pertaining to the scalability of quantum devices, but face the challenge of finding the suitable materials for desired functionality that resemble what is sought from QIS devices.