Interpretive Themes in Quantum Physics: Curriculum Development and Outcomes

Baily, Charles; Finkelstein, Noah D.

home » Conference Proceedings Detail Page

Detail Page

Interpretive Themes in Quantum Physics: Curriculum Development and Outcomes

written by Charles Baily and Noah D. Finkelstein

A common learning goal for modern physics instructors is for students to recognize a difference between the experimental uncertainty of classical physics and the fundamental uncertainty of quantum mechanics. Our prior work has shown that student perspectives on the physical interpretation of quantum mechanics can be characterized, and are differentially influenced by the myriad ways instructors approach interpretive themes in their introductory courses. We report how a transformed modern physics curriculum (recently implemented at the University of Colorado) has positively impacted student perspectives on quantum physics, by making questions of classical and quantum reality a central theme of the course, but also by making the beliefs of students (and not just those of scientists) an explicit topic of discussion.

Physics Education Research Conference 2011
Part of the PER Conference series
Omaha, Nebraska: August 3-4, 2011
Volume 1413, Pages 107-110

download 270kb .pdf
Published: February 6, 2012

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Foundations - Student Characteristics = Affect Education Practices - Curriculum Development = Course Quantum Physics - General	- Lower Undergraduate - Graduate/Professional	- Reference Material = Article

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Researchers - Educators	- application/pdf - non-digital	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3680005
Access Rights:: Free access and
Available for purchase; A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2011 proceedings is available for purchase from the AIP.
Restriction:: © 2011 American Institute of Physics
DOI:: 10.1063/1.3680005
NSF Number:: 0448176
PACSs:: 01.40.Fk; 03.65.Aa; 01.40.Di
Keywords:: PERC 2011, curriculum development, modern physics instruction, physics education research, quantum physics
Record Creator:: Metadata instance created August 25, 2011 by Charles Baily
Record Updated:: May 25, 2012 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: February 6, 2012
Other Collections:: The PER-Central

Post a new comment on this item

ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=11423">Baily, Charles, and Noah Finkelstein. "Interpretive Themes in Quantum Physics: Curriculum Development and Outcomes." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, August 3-4, 2011.</a>

AIP Format

C. Baily and N. Finkelstein, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, 2011, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11423&DocID=2405).

AJP/PRST-PER

C. Baily and N. Finkelstein, Interpretive Themes in Quantum Physics: Curriculum Development and Outcomes, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, 2011, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11423&DocID=2405>.

APA Format

Baily, C., & Finkelstein, N. (2011, August 3-4). Interpretive Themes in Quantum Physics: Curriculum Development and Outcomes. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska. Retrieved April 20, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11423&DocID=2405

Chicago Format

Baily, Charles, and Noah Finkelstein. "Interpretive Themes in Quantum Physics: Curriculum Development and Outcomes." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, August 3-4, 2011. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11423&DocID=2405 (accessed 20 April 2024).

MLA Format

Baily, Charles, and Noah Finkelstein. "Interpretive Themes in Quantum Physics: Curriculum Development and Outcomes." Physics Education Research Conference 2011. Omaha, Nebraska: 2011. 107-110 Vol. 1413 of PER Conference. 20 Apr. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11423&DocID=2405>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Charles Baily and Noah Finkelstein", Title = {Interpretive Themes in Quantum Physics: Curriculum Development and Outcomes}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2011}, Pages = {107-110}, Address = {Omaha, Nebraska}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1413}, Month = {August 3-4}, Year = {2011} }

Refer Export Format

%A Charles Baily %A Noah Finkelstein %T Interpretive Themes in Quantum Physics: Curriculum Development and Outcomes %S PER Conference %V 1413 %D August 3-4 2011 %P 107-110 %C Omaha, Nebraska %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11423&DocID=2405 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2011 %O August 3-4 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Baily, Charles %A Finkelstein, Noah %D August 3-4 2011 %T Interpretive Themes in Quantum Physics: Curriculum Development and Outcomes %B Physics Education Research Conference 2011 %C Omaha, Nebraska %V 1413 %P 107-110 %S PER Conference %8 August 3-4 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11423&DocID=2405

Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.

Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation.

The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ.