Interpretive Themes in Quantum Physics: Curriculum Development and Outcomes

TL;DR

This paper discusses how a revised modern physics curriculum at the University of Colorado improved students' understanding of quantum mechanics by emphasizing interpretive themes and student beliefs about reality.

Contribution

It introduces a curriculum that explicitly addresses interpretive themes and student beliefs, enhancing understanding of quantum physics.

Findings

Students' perspectives on quantum interpretation improved

Curriculum made classical and quantum reality questions central

Student beliefs were explicitly discussed and influenced

Abstract

A common learning goal for modern physics instructors is for students to recognize a difference between the experimental uncertainty of classical physics and the fundamental uncertainty of quantum mechanics. Our prior work has shown that student perspectives on the physical interpretation of quantum mechanics can be characterized, and are differentially influenced by the myriad ways instructors approach interpretive themes in their introductory courses. We report how a transformed modern physics curriculum (recently implemented at the University of Colorado) has positively impacted student perspectives on quantum physics, by making questions of classical and quantum reality a central theme of the course, but also by making the beliefs of students (and not just those of scientists) an explicit topic of discussion.