Characterizing and monitoring student discomfort in upper-division quantum mechanics

TL;DR

This study tracks student discomfort levels in an upper-division quantum mechanics course, revealing consistent discomfort over time with shifting sources of difficulty, and offers insights into student challenges through surveys and interviews.

Contribution

It introduces a method of weekly discomfort surveys and coding of student responses to understand evolving student challenges in advanced quantum mechanics courses.

Findings

Discomfort levels remained constant throughout the semester.

Sources of discomfort shifted from math to physics concepts over time.

Student challenges vary across different units and evolve during the course.

Abstract

We investigate student comfort with the material in an upper-division spins-first quantum mechanics course. Pre-lecture surveys probing students' comfort were administered weekly, in which students assigned themselves a "discomfort level" on a scale of 0--10 and provided a written explanation for their choice. The weekly class-wide average discomfort level was effectively constant over the semester, suggesting that the class found no single unit especially jarring nor especially easy. Student written responses were coded according to their reported source of discomfort---math, math-physics connection, physics, and notation. The relative prevalence of these categories varied significantly over the semester, indicating that students find that different units present different challenges, and also that some of these challenges fade in importance as the semester progresses. Semi-structured interviews with students in a similar quantum mechanics course at a different institution provided additional context and insight into these results.