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Development of quantum perspectives in modern physics

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Baily_PRST2010A_DQPMP.pdf (434.7Kb)
Date
23/03/2009
Author
Baily, Charles
Finkelstein, Noah D.
Keywords
Quantum physics
Physics education research
QC Physics
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Abstract
Introductory undergraduate courses in classical physics stress a perspective that can be characterized as realist; from this perspective, all physical properties of a classical system can be simultaneously specified and thus determined at all future times. Such a perspective can be problematic for introductory quantum physics students, who must develop new perspectives in order to properly interpret what it means to have knowledge of quantum systems. We document this evolution in student thinking in part through pre- and post-instruction evaluations using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey. We further characterize variations in student epistemic and ontological commitments by examining responses to two essay questions, coupled with responses to supplemental quantum attitude statements. We find that, after instruction in modern physics, many students are still exhibiting a realist perspective in contexts where a quantum-mechanical perspective is needed. We further find that this effect can be significantly influenced by instruction, where we observe variations for courses with differing learning goals. We also note that students generally do not employ either a realist or a quantum perspective in a consistent manner.
Citation
Baily , C & Finkelstein , N D 2009 , ' Development of quantum perspectives in modern physics ' , Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research , vol. 5 , no. 1 , 010106 . https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.5.010106
Publication
Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.5.010106
ISSN
1554-9178
Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2009 The American Physical Society. The published version of this article is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.
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  • Physics & Astronomy Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
URL
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.5.010106
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3529

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