Students' conceptual development of quantum mechanical concepts

Bayram Akarsu

Tim Bouchée, L.G.A. de Putter Smits, Marieke C. G. Thurlings +1 more

Quantum mechanics (QM) was prominently featured in the Dutch national physics examination for upper secondary school level in 2016 for the first time. It appears that many students have struggled to learn this new subject and had problems answering the associated examination questions. From the literature it is known that QM is difficult to understand, and to visualize in everyday settings. This is likely to hinder students' development of a conceptual understanding of QM. In this proposal we apply the perspective of Conceptual Field Theory to the learning of QM, to develop a deeper understanding of problems that arise in its learning processes. Conceptual Field Theory is a theory that emphasizes action to develop students' concepts, and the action is set in task-based situations presented to students. We argue that the main problem associated with learning QM is that it is difficult for students to come to meaningful representations appropriate for learning QM. Without meaningful representations it is hard to formulate correct propositions that help to handle and analyze presented task-based situations. In this proposal we describe why it is difficult to come to meaningful representations in QM and we suggest how research into learning and teaching QM could proceed.

Beyhan Akarsu, Bayram Akarsu

Gina Passante, Paul J. Emigh, Peter S. Shaffer

Sarah B. McKagan

We present a study of student understanding of energy in quantum mechanical tunneling and barrier penetration. This paper will focus on student responses to two questions that were part of a test given in class to two modern physics classes and in individual interviews with 17 students. The test, which we refer to as the Quantum Mechanics Conceptual Survey (QMCS), is being developed to measure student understanding of basic concepts in quantum mechanics. In this paper we explore and clarify the previously reported misconception that reflection from a barrier is due to particles having a range of energies rather than wave properties. We also confirm previous studies reporting the student misconception that energy is lost in tunneling, and report a misconception not previously reported, that potential energy diagrams shown in tunneling problems do not represent the potential energy of the particle itself. The present work is part of a much larger study of student understanding of quantum mechanics.

J. C. Slater