Session H03: Quantum Quandaries: How Can We Teach Quantum Mechanics Better

Live

The standard treatment of introductory quantum mechanics presents it as a series of miraculous and incomprehensible insights and theories that leaves most students convinced that the subject is fundamentally incomprehensible to mortals such as themselves. I have developed a course based explicitly on QM as the logical and understandable incremental process of the development of models to explain experimental phenomena. This uses a somewhat sanitized historical perspective, where the relevant experimental data is presented, then students see how a model was created to explain the observations and the context in which it was used and tested, and how its failure to explain new data leads to the development of an improved model. We proceed through the photoelectric model of particle-wave duality, followed by the Bohr, De Broglie, Schrodinger, Schrodinger plus radiative transitions models of atoms. This course is heavily supported by PhET interactive simulations which simulate the critical experiments and model predictions in particularly educationally helpful formats. I also show how this basic QM underpins many phenomena in the world around us, such as the detection of light by eyes and photodetectors, the colors of objects, varying resistivity of materials, semiconductors, diodes, lights, and lasers, etc. Our data show that students gain a better understanding and appreciation of QM concepts from this course compared to the standard treatment, and a much greater confidence that these ideas are things they can understand. I will also briefly discuss our recent advances in understanding expert problem solving in physics (and other sciences and engineering) in terms of a universal set of \textasciitilde 30 decisions-to-be-made and the predictive frameworks that guide those decisions.   

Live

Learning quantum mechanics is challenging.~ To help improve student understanding of quantum mechanics concepts, we have been conducting investigation of the difficulties that students have in learning quantum mechanics and we are using research as a guide to develop Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorials (QuILTs) as well as tools for peer-instruction. The goal of QuILTs and peer-instruction tools is to actively engage students in the learning process and to help them build links between the formalism and the conceptual aspects of quantum physics.~These learning tools focus on helping students integrate qualitative and quantitative understanding without compromising technical content.~ In this talk, I will discuss a framework for understanding students' difficulties in quantum mechanics and give examples of how research-validated learning tools and pedagogies can help students develop a good grasp of quantum mechanics. .   

Live

Quantum optics laboratories based on entangled photon pairs produced by parametric down-conversion provide a curriculum of laboratories that illustrate by experimentation the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. Experiments focus on fundamental issues, such as superposition, entanglement, realism and nonlocality. They encourage students to think deeply about quantum physics, with topics such as quantum erasure, delayed choice, measurement and wave-particle complementarity issues. The laboratories also serve as a platform to exercise quantum bra-ket algebra, with optical elements acting as operators on the states of the light. Under development are new labs to illustrate the quantum mechanical wave-function in the harmonic oscillator via non-diffracting light beams. The labs can be used in the advanced physics laboratory course, or as we do, in a dedicated lab for the upper-level quantum mechanics course.   

Live

Quantum mechanics is a profound theory that impacts our understanding of phenomena from the very smallest to the very largest scales. Its principles were founded in a need to understand a range of phenomena evident in the natural world, such as the observed spectroscopic properties of atoms and molecules. However, as quantum devices rapidly grew in societal impact in the previous century, a new perspective emerged of the potential for quantum systems to efficiently process information, if only they could be controlled. It was realized that many of the nonintuitive aspects such as locality and realism could actually be tested in experiment by virtue of Bell's inequalities. We are now at a point where students need to be prepared to contribute to the second quantum revolution, where the basic quantum constituents can be manipulated at the level of individual elements. I will present recent efforts to develop a comprehensive interactive quantum sequence with the aim to move from a teaching approach based on the historical development of the subject to a more modern perspective. I will emphasize some of the conceptual difficulties that face students approaching this subject material.