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Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research
Refined characterization of student perspectives on quantum physics
written by Charles Baily and Noah D. Finkelstein
The perspectives of introductory classical physics students can often negatively influence how those students later interpret quantum phenomena when taking an introductory course in modern physics. A detailed exploration of student perspectives on the interpretation of quantum physics is needed, both to characterize student understanding of physics concepts, and to inform how we might teach traditional content. Our previous investigations of student perspectives on quantum physics have indicated they can be highly nuanced, and may vary both within and across contexts. In order to better understand the contextual and often seemingly contradictory stances of students on matters of interpretation, we interviewed 19 students from four introductory modern physics courses taught at the University of Colorado. We find that students have attitudes and opinions that often parallel the stances of expert physicists when arguing for their favored interpretations of quantum mechanics, allowing for more nuanced characterizations of student perspectives in terms of three key interpretive themes. We present a framework for characterizing student perspectives on quantum mechanics, and demonstrate its utility in interpreting the sometimes contradictory nature of student responses to previous surveys. We further find that students most often vacillate in their responses when what makes intuitive sense to them is not in agreement with what they consider to be a correct response, underscoring the need to distinguish between the personal and the public perspectives of introductory modern physics students.
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Education - Basic Research
- Assessment
= Conceptual Assessment
- Student Characteristics
= Affect
Quantum Physics
- General
- Lower Undergraduate
- Graduate/Professional
- Reference Material
= Research study
PER-Central Type Intended Users Ratings
- PER Literature
- Researchers
- Educators
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Formats:
application/pdf
text/html
Mirror:
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevST…
Mirror:
https://physicscourses.colorado.e…
Access Rights:
Free access
License:
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
Rights Holder:
American Physical Society
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.6.020113
NSF Number:
0448176
PACSs:
01.40.Fk
03.65.-w
Keywords:
Quantum Mechanics, Student Perspectives
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created February 27, 2011 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:
August 18, 2020 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
September 16, 2010
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Record Link
AIP Format
C. Baily and N. Finkelstein, , Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 6 (2), 020113 (2010), WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10751&DocID=2206).
AJP/PRST-PER
C. Baily and N. Finkelstein, Refined characterization of student perspectives on quantum physics, Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 6 (2), 020113 (2010), <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10751&DocID=2206>.
APA Format
Baily, C., & Finkelstein, N. (2010, September 16). Refined characterization of student perspectives on quantum physics. Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res., 6(2), 020113. Retrieved October 7, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10751&DocID=2206
Chicago Format
Baily, Charles, and Noah Finkelstein. "Refined characterization of student perspectives on quantum physics." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 6, no. 2, (September 16, 2010): 020113, https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10751&DocID=2206 (accessed 7 October 2024).
MLA Format
Baily, Charles, and Noah Finkelstein. "Refined characterization of student perspectives on quantum physics." Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. 6.2 (2010): 020113. 7 Oct. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10751&DocID=2206>.
BibTeX Export Format
@article{ Author = "Charles Baily and Noah Finkelstein", Title = {Refined characterization of student perspectives on quantum physics}, Journal = {Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res.}, Volume = {6}, Number = {2}, Pages = {020113}, Month = {September}, Year = {2010} }
Refer Export Format

%A Charles Baily %A Noah Finkelstein %T Refined characterization of student perspectives on quantum physics %J Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. %V 6 %N 2 %D September 16, 2010 %P 020113 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10751&DocID=2206 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Journal Article %A Baily, Charles %A Finkelstein, Noah %D September 16, 2010 %T Refined characterization of student perspectives on quantum physics %J Phys. Rev. ST Phys. Educ. Res. %V 6 %N 2 %P 020113 %8 September 16, 2010 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10751&DocID=2206


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