The contribution is focused on the presentation of some results obtained by implementing a thick path on Quantum Physics (QP) with 18-19 year old students. The same path has been implemented in parallel in two different regular classes of a science-oriented high school (Liceo Scientifico “A. Einstein”), in Rimini (Italy). The results concern the difficulties expressed by the students in entering QP and, mainly, in accepting the implications of QP on the problematic relation between reality-language-knowledge
The contribution is focused on the presentation of some results obtained by implementing a thick path on Quantum Physics (QP) with 18-19 year old students. The same path has been implemented in parallel in two different regular classes of a science-oriented high school (Liceo Scientifico “A. Einstein”), in Rimini (Italy). The results concern the difficulties expressed by the students in entering QP and, mainly, in accepting the implications of QP on the problematic relation between reality-language-knowledge
Quantum mechanics (QM) has taken on a paradigmatic role in how physics describes and builds new knowledge about the world. It also has a growing role in our society thanks to recent and rapid developments in the field of new quantum technologies. These are becoming increasingly important in our society, in the world of work and which will also decisively influence future socio-economic choices. Also for this reason QM has an increasing role in the education of young people and has been introduced in many different ways also in secondary school in all continents. The change in the theoretical and cultural frame has profound implications that are often not intuitive, which involve the appropriation of a specific way of thinking. Neither macroscopic phenomenology, nor intuition help, because there is no simple evidence of how quantum objects must be thought to interpret that unobservable microscopic world and for which we must enter another interpretative paradigm even if we want to limit ourselves to describe it. PER has carried out several studies on the learning of key concepts, on the learning nodes, the ways of reasoning, the difficulties of the students, their spontaneous ideas, according to two main strands: above all at university level, conceptual difficulties and misunderstandings often linked to a formal approach, which, moreover, underpins the very nature of the entities involved; at secondary school level in relation to how students acquire a quantum view of phenomena on the basis of specific approaches adopted to address QM. In particular, a vast literature, which has increased considerably and especially in relatively recent times, has studied how university students deal with certain concepts such as that of state, superposition, measurement in quantum mechanics rather than how quantum quantities evolve over time. These studies are based on the use of questionnaires that allow to explore different levels: the verbal, formal and representative one, with different representations (eg. wave function, Dirac notation), rather than different representative modes (eg. Graphs of probability amplitudes, or probability distributions). At the secondary school level, the most important studies on student learning were instead conducted evaluating the educational impact and outlining the learning paths of students who had followed formative activities based on differentiated innovative research-based educational paths. In particular, the learning outcomes were compared to those activated by proposals based on the historical reconstruction approach of quantum physics. This approach is privileged in traditional curricula and school texts and consequently in the ways of teachers approaching the topic. It was developed in schools with a narrative or descriptive dimension of solutions based on old physics of quanta for the interpretation of phenomena not explained by classical physics. The innovative approaches instead make use of contexts whose formal treatment is simple (quantum properties described in a two-state space such as polarization or spin) with the aid of simulations that compensate for the problem of students” limited mathematical-formal skills, avoiding any historical reference. In particular, there is a significant difference between the survey tools and the survey contexts in the high school environment compared to surveys conducted with university students. This paper presents a review of the research literature, focusing in particular on the learning processes of secondary school students and outlining how research perspectives have evolved.
Most educational presentations of quantum physics show interpretative difficulties dating back to the early ‘900 and lacking a suitable analysis of the meaning of “reality” that emerges from the theory. No wonder, therefore, that school paths derived from them often leave students confused, at all age levels. The main problem stems from the lack of awareness of the nature of physical theories and their relationship with the outcome of possible experiments. We will discuss this nature both, from the epistemological and the educational point of view and give indications to provide an increasingly solid foundation for the educational reconstructions of the content, for quantum as well as for classical physics, and therefore, to contribute to create conditions for a better teaching of physics in general.
Abstract Most current educational presentations of quantum physics still propose the same difficulties that emerged in the early twentieth century, often as a mean to engage students. Those difficulties emerged among physicists mostly because the lack of a suitable meaning of what “reality” has to be considered. Instead of engaging students, those difficulties leave them confused because they lack the awareness of what a physical theory is and its relationship with the experiments. We will discuss this problem, both from the epistemological and the educational point of view and give indications to provide an increasingly solid foundation for the educational reconstructions of quantum physics starting from classical physics that must be reconsidered in view of the final objective rather than opposing it to modern physics.
[This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Investigating and Improving Quantum Education through Research.] Evidence from physics education research suggests that the introduction of a formalistic description of quantum phenomena can be beneficial to student learning, particularly in terms of helping students move away from naive realist views of quanta or space-time descriptions of quantum phenomena. However, the mathematical requirements for mastering quantum formalism are typically far beyond the scope of secondary school education. Therefore, in previous research, we have proposed a reduced Dirac notation tailored to the capabilities of secondary school students, which is included in a novel teaching-learning sequence. However, the cognitive processes of students when confronted with an introduction to quantum physics via a reduced Dirac notation have not been thoroughly investigated: In particular, it seems important to investigate whether this approach is actually beneficial to students’ learning and to explore the learning difficulties students are likely to encounter in such a setting. This paper contributes to this research gap by reporting the findings of an acceptance survey: N = 14 learners participated in one-on-one interviews following a protocol consisting of four cyclical phases (information phase, acceptance evaluation, paraphrasing phase, and application phase). The findings of our study indicate that the instructional elements within our new teaching-learning sequence were generally well accepted by students but also revealed learning difficulties that students may encounter. Thus, on the one hand, the findings of this study pave the way for future research on students’ learning of quantum physics using Dirac notation. On the other hand, the in-depth findings reported here may guide teachers in designing learning environments that introduce Dirac notation at the upper secondary school and introductory university levels. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Teaching quantum mechanics at the secondary school level remains a major educational challenge. Traditional historical approaches often present the theory as a sequence of disconnected phenomena, requiring extensive prior knowledge of classical physics before students can appreciate the conceptual structure of quantum physics. In this work, we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of a curriculum based on the two state (qubit first) approach, in which the fundamental postulates of quantum mechanics are introduced through mathematically accessible two level systems and realized with light polarization. The curriculum integrates theoretical instruction, laboratory activities, a coherent progression grounded in the interactive simulations, and inquiry based learning into a coherent pathway that progresses from quantum states and superposition to entanglement and the experimental violation of Bell's inequalities. A distinctive feature of the project is the experimental realization of the violation of Bell's inequalities obtained in a newly established quantum optics laboratory in an Italian high school, where students performed, for the first time in Italy, an authentic Bell test using polarization-entangled photons. The same educational framework was adopted for in service teacher professional development courses. Learning outcomes were evaluated through mixed methods. Preliminary analysis indicates significant improvements in conceptual understanding, confidence in using mathematical formalism, and appreciation of the relationship between theory, experimentation, and the foundations of quantum mechanics. The proposed curriculum shows that two-state formalism and supported by real laboratory experiences enables secondary-school students to engage more meaningfully with both the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics and their experimental verification.
Abstract Teaching and learning quantum mechanics is one of the most demanding educational and conceptual challenges, in particular in secondary schools where students do not possess an adequate mathematical background to effectively support the description of quantum behaviour. Educational research shows that traditional approaches, generally based on historical and narrative perspectives, are only partially effective. The reason is that they do not address in depth those basic quantum concepts that radically question the fundamentals of classical physics. A research-based educational program has been proposed to two final-year classes of an Italian scientific high school. In order to build the main concepts of quantum mechanics and their formal basic representation via real and simulated experiments, the program uses the light polarization as a context. A quantum game was then integrated in the educational program, to support students’ learning. Their conceptual paths, monitored by means of tutorials and questionnaires, show significant student learning especially on the concept of state and on appropriating the formalism meaning, whereas students more frequently referred to the geometrical vector representation instead of the algebraic-analytic formula. The quantum game has emerged to support intuition and operative experience in distinguishing the foundational concepts of superposition and entanglement.