Modeling and Representing Conceptual Change in the Learning of Successive Theories: The Case of the Classical-Quantum Transition

TL;DR

This paper proposes a model for understanding how students transition from classical to quantum physics theories, integrating insights from education, history, philosophy, and mathematics to inform teaching strategies and curriculum design.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to modeling conceptual change during theory transitions, specifically applied to the classical-quantum shift in physics education.

Findings

Identifies complex cognitive challenges in theory change

Uses dynamic frames to visualize conceptual shifts

Suggests pattern-based strategies for teaching quantum concepts

Abstract

Most educational literature on conceptual change concerns the process by which introductory students acquire scientific knowledge. However, with modern developments in science and technology, the social significance of learning successive theories is steadily increasing, thus opening new areas of interest to discipline-based education research, e.g., quantum logic, quantum information and communication. Here we present an initial proposal for modeling the transition from the understanding of a theory to the understanding of its successor and explore its generative potential by applying it to a concrete case: the classical-quantum transition in physics. In pursue of such task, we make coordinated use of contributions not only from research on conceptual change in education, but also on the history and philosophy of science, on the teaching and learning of quantum mechanics, on mathematics education. By means of analytical instruments developed for characterizing conceptual trajectories at different representational levels, we review empirical literature in the search for the connections between theory change and cognitive demands. The analysis shows a rich landscape of changes and new challenges that are absent in the traditionally considered cases of conceptual change. In order to fully disclose the educational potential of the analysis, we visualize categorical changes by means of dynamic frames, identifying recognizable patterns that answer to students' need of comparability between the older and the new paradigm. Finally, we show how the frame representation can be used to suggest pattern-dependent strategies to promote the understanding of the new content, and may work as a guide to curricular design.