Examining student understanding in quantum mechanics

Tong Wan, Gina Passante, Peter S. Shaffer

Wouter van Joolingen, Kim Krijtenburg-Lewerissa

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.

William D. Riihiluoma, Zeynep Topdemir, John R. Thompson

As part of an effort to examine student understanding of expressions for probability in an upper-division spins-first quantum mechanics (QM) context, clinical think-aloud interviews were conducted with students following relevant instruction.Students were given various tasks to showcase their conceptual understanding of the mathematics and physics underpinning these expressions.The symbolic forms framework was used as a lens through which to analyze their understanding.Various symbol templates and conceptual schemata were identified, in Dirac and function notations, with multiple schemata paired with different templates.The overlapping linking suggests that defining strict template-schema pairs may not be feasible or productive for studying student interpretations of expressions for probability in upper-division QM courses.

Christian DE RONDE, Sven Aerts

David E. Gardner

This thesis describes qualitative research conducted to understand the problems students have when learning quantum mechanics. It differs from previous studies on educational issues associated with quantum mechanics in that I have examined the difficulties from the students' perspective. Three questions guided this research: What are the experiences of students learning quantum mechanics? What conceptual difficulties do students have with quantum mechanics? and, How do students approach learning quantum mechanics? From these questions, two themes emerged. First, students do not consider the quantum mechanical concepts of wave-particle duality or the uncertainty principle to be important sources of difficulties for them. Second, many of the difficulties students encounter are not related to conceptual understanding of specific topics, but stem from a mindset that is incongruent with the nature and structure of quantum mechanics. The implications for teaching are that the nature and structure of quantum mechanics should be emphasized and be an explicit part of instruction.