Testing the development of student conceptual and visualization understanding in quantum mechanics through the undergraduate career Am.We investigate the difficulties of advanced undergraduate students toward the end of a full year upper-level quantum mechanics course with concepts related to quantum measurements and time development. Our analysis is based upon a test administered to 89 students from six universities and interviews with 9 students. Strikingly, most students shared the same difficulties despite variations in background, teaching styles, and textbooks. Concepts related to stationary states, eigenstates, and time dependence of expectation values were found to be particularly difficult. An analysis of written tests and interviews suggests that widespread misconceptions originate from an inability to discriminate between related concepts and a tendency to overgeneralize.

A survey was developed to probe student understanding of quantum mechanics at the beginning of graduate instruction. The survey was administered to 202 physics graduate students enrolled in first-year quantum mechanics courses from seven universities at the beginning of the first semester.We also conducted one-on-one interviews with fifteen graduate or advanced undergraduate students who had just completed a course in which all the content on the survey was covered. Although students from some universities performed better on average than others, we found that students share universal difficulties understanding the concepts of quantum mechanics. The difficulties were often due to over-generalizations of concepts learned in one context to other contexts where they are not directly applicable. Difficulties in distinguishing between closely related concepts and making sense of the formalism of quantum mechanics were common. The results of this study can sensitize instructors of first-year graduate quantum physics to some of the difficulties students are likely to face.

We discuss the development and evaluation of quantum interactive learning tutorials (QuILTs) which are suitable for undergraduate courses in quantum mechanics. QuILTs are based on the investigation of student difficulties in learning quantum physics. They exploit computer-based visualization tools and help students build links between the formal and conceptual aspects of quantum physics without compromising the technical content. They can be used both as supplements to lectures or as a self-study tool.Comment: 6 pages, PACS: 01.40Fk,01.40.gb,01.40G-,1.30.Rr; Keywords: physics education research, quantum mechanics, teaching, learning, pedagogy, tutorial, active engagement

vii 3.3.1 Difficulties related to the classical bound state and the quantum bound and scattering states..

We investigate student understanding of energy and momentum concepts at the level of introductory physics by designing and administering a 25-item multiple choice test and conducting individual interviews. We find that most students have difficulty in qualitatively interpreting basic principles related to energy and momentum and in applying them in physical situations.