Academic Journal
Investigation of student and faculty problem solving: An example from quantum mechanics.
| Τίτλος: | Investigation of student and faculty problem solving: An example from quantum mechanics. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Maries, Alexandru, Sayer, Ryan, Singh, Chandralekha |
| Πηγή: | American Journal of Physics; Jun2025, Vol. 93 Issue 6, p492-498, 7p |
| Θεματικοί όροι: | Quantum mechanics, Problem solving, Outcome assessment (Education), Cognitive load, Critical thinking, Numerical calculations, Wave-particle duality |
| Περίληψη: | We describe a study focusing on students' and faculty members' reasoning about problems of differing cognitive complexity related to the double-slit experiment (DSE) with single particles. In the first phase of the study, students in advanced quantum mechanics courses were asked these questions in written form. Additionally, individual interviews were conducted with ten students in which they were asked follow-up questions to make their thought processes explicit on the challenging problems. Students did well on the straightforward problem, showing they had some knowledge of the DSE after traditional instruction, but they struggled on the more complex ones. Even if explicitly asked to do so in interviews, students were often uncomfortable performing calculations or making approximations and simplifications, instead preferring to stick with their gut feeling. In the second phase of the study, the problems were broken down into more pointed questions to investigate whether students had knowledge of relevant concepts, whether they would do calculations as part of their solution approach if explicitly asked, and whether they explicitly noted using their gut feeling. While the faculty members' responses suggest that they could seamlessly move between conceptual and quantitative reasoning, most students were unable to combine concepts represented by different equations to solve the problems quantitatively. We conclude with instructional implications. Editor's Note: In an investigation of student problem solving, the authors discovered that students often chose to answer problems with their gut feelings, rather than performing a calculation or supporting their answer with conceptual reasoning. This work explores the reasons for this choice, and the paper concludes with recommendations for improvements to physics instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of American Journal of Physics is the property of American Institute of Physics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | Complementary Index |
| FullText | Links: – Type: other Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: edb DbLabel: Complementary Index An: 185367606 RelevancyScore: 994 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 993.551391601563 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Investigation of student and faculty problem solving: An example from quantum mechanics. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Maries%2C+Alexandru%22">Maries, Alexandru</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sayer%2C+Ryan%22">Sayer, Ryan</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Singh%2C+Chandralekha%22">Singh, Chandralekha</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: American Journal of Physics; Jun2025, Vol. 93 Issue 6, p492-498, 7p – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Quantum+mechanics%22">Quantum mechanics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Problem+solving%22">Problem solving</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Outcome+assessment+%28Education%29%22">Outcome assessment (Education)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cognitive+load%22">Cognitive load</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Critical+thinking%22">Critical thinking</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Numerical+calculations%22">Numerical calculations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wave-particle+duality%22">Wave-particle duality</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: We describe a study focusing on students' and faculty members' reasoning about problems of differing cognitive complexity related to the double-slit experiment (DSE) with single particles. In the first phase of the study, students in advanced quantum mechanics courses were asked these questions in written form. Additionally, individual interviews were conducted with ten students in which they were asked follow-up questions to make their thought processes explicit on the challenging problems. Students did well on the straightforward problem, showing they had some knowledge of the DSE after traditional instruction, but they struggled on the more complex ones. Even if explicitly asked to do so in interviews, students were often uncomfortable performing calculations or making approximations and simplifications, instead preferring to stick with their gut feeling. In the second phase of the study, the problems were broken down into more pointed questions to investigate whether students had knowledge of relevant concepts, whether they would do calculations as part of their solution approach if explicitly asked, and whether they explicitly noted using their gut feeling. While the faculty members' responses suggest that they could seamlessly move between conceptual and quantitative reasoning, most students were unable to combine concepts represented by different equations to solve the problems quantitatively. We conclude with instructional implications. Editor's Note: In an investigation of student problem solving, the authors discovered that students often chose to answer problems with their gut feelings, rather than performing a calculation or supporting their answer with conceptual reasoning. This work explores the reasons for this choice, and the paper concludes with recommendations for improvements to physics instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: Abstract Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of American Journal of Physics is the property of American Institute of Physics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edb&AN=185367606 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1119/5.0207947 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 7 StartPage: 492 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Quantum mechanics Type: general – SubjectFull: Problem solving Type: general – SubjectFull: Outcome assessment (Education) Type: general – SubjectFull: Cognitive load Type: general – SubjectFull: Critical thinking Type: general – SubjectFull: Numerical calculations Type: general – SubjectFull: Wave-particle duality Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Investigation of student and faculty problem solving: An example from quantum mechanics. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Maries, Alexandru – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Sayer, Ryan – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Singh, Chandralekha IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 06 Text: Jun2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00029505 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 93 – Type: issue Value: 6 Titles: – TitleFull: American Journal of Physics Type: main |
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