The effect of giving explicit incentives to correct mistakes on subsequent problem solving in quantum mechanics

TL;DR

Providing explicit incentives for students to correct mistakes in quantum mechanics problems significantly improves their subsequent problem-solving performance, especially for those who initially performed poorly.

Contribution

This study demonstrates that incentivizing mistake correction enhances learning outcomes in advanced physics education, a novel approach in quantum mechanics instruction.

Findings

Students with incentives performed better on final exams.

Poor initial performers benefited most from the incentive.

Mistake correction led to significant learning gains.

Abstract

One attribute of experts is that they are likely to learn from their own mistakes. Experts are unlikely to make the same mistakes when asked to solve a problem a second time, especially if they had access to a correct solution. Here, we discuss a study spanning several years in which advanced undergraduate physics students in a quantum mechanics course were given incentives to correct their mistakes in the midterm exam and they could get back up to 50% of the points lost on each midterm exam problem. The solutions to the midterm exam problems were provided to all students in both groups but those who corrected their mistakes were provided the solution after they submitted their corrections to the instructor. The performance on the final exam on the same problems suggests that students who were given incentives to correct their mistakes significantly outperformed those who were not given an incentive. The incentive to correct mistakes had the greatest impact on the final exam performance of students who performed poorly on the midterm exam.