Abstract
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.
Highlights
Prior research has indicated that through instruction in classical physics, or from everyday experience, many introductory physics students develop realist perspectives1͔ based in part on intuitive conceptions of particle and wave phenomena
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 have improved upon our previous efforts to characterize the perspectives of introductory modern physics students on the nature of quantum physics through an exploration of their conceptions across three key interpretive themes
Summary
Prior research has indicated that through instruction in classical physics, or from everyday experience, many introductory physics students develop realist perspectives1͔ based in part on intuitive conceptions of particle and wave phenomena. From a total of 19 postinstruction interviews with students from four recent introductory modern physics courses at the University of Colorado we find that, though they may not employ the same formal language as expert physicists, students often invoke concepts and beliefs that parallel those invoked by expert physicists when arguing for their preferred interpretations of quantum mechanics. These parallels allow us to characterize student perspectives on quantum physics in terms of some of the same themes that distinguish these formal interpretations from each other. With regard to mixed or seemingly contradictory responses from students, results from the present studies indicate that: ͑i Some students prefer a mixed wave-particle ontologya pilot-wave interpretation, wherein quanta are simultaneously both particle and wave; andii Students are most likely to vacillate in their responses when what makes intuitive sense to them is not in agreement with what they consider to be a correct response
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