Investigating teachers’ and students’ experiences of quantum physics lessons: opportunities and challenges

Figures & data

Table 1. Information of participants.

#	Pseudonym	Age	Experience	Education	School	Teaching approach
1	Rick	30	Five years	Master of science in applied physics Master of science in physics education	I	Student-centred approach frequently using digital materials to encourage students to learn actively, collaboratively, and through self-exploration.
2	Sarah	37	Over 10 years	Master of science in applied physics Master of science in physics education	II	Teacher-centred approach using lectures and classroom discussion to teach QP. Digital materials were seldomly incorporated into the classroom.
3	George	52	Over 10 years	Master of science in physics Master of science in physics education	II	Teacher-centred approach using lectures and classroom discussion to teach QP. Digital materials were occasionally used in the classroom.

Figure 1. Curricular spider web (Van den Akker 2003) as presented by Van den Akker (2013, 59).

Table 2. Opportunities and challenges as found in each case.

Spider web component	Dutch curriculum	Rick	Sarah	George
Rationale Why should students learn?	QP helps students understand current scientific insights and technological applications. QP helps to relate several STEM subjects. QP should help overcome growing distance between university physics and school physics. QP should help enthuse students for physics.	O: Rick said that QP made it possible to talk about modern physics in classroom. C: Rick felt that QP did not help prepare students for university physics. O: Rick’s students felt that QP made it possible to talk about modern physics.	C: Sarah was dissatisfied with the addition of QP to the physics curriculum. C: Sarah said that her students experienced QP to be irrelevant. C: Sarah said that students disliked QP, especially girls that are interested in health related studies. C: Sarah’s students questioned the relevance of QP.	O: George felt that students needed to understand QP to be aware of current scientific insights. C/O: George’s students mentioned that addressing more technological applications could help students experience more relevance.
Aims and objectives Towards which goals are students learning?	Students should realize that QP is necessary to describe the behavior of light and matter at the smallest scale. Students should understand how QP differs from classical physics. Students should be able to apply wave-particle duality, Heisenberg uncertainty relationship, QP tunneling and the concept of energy quantization in several contexts.	O: Rick felt that the learning goals are feasible. C: Rick mentioned that the learning goals for QP are too vague as expressed in the Dutch QP curriculum. C: Rick’s students said that it was difficult to reach learning objectives with the current teaching approach.	C: Sarah found the aims and objectives of QP unfeasible. C: Sarah’s students had problems understanding why or when QP is necessary to explain or reason about certain QP phenomena.	O: George felt that the QP curriculum is feasible and that students can handle the content. C: George experienced that students lacked conceptual understanding of QP. O: George’s students experienced that understanding QP is feasible.
Content What are students learning?	Conceptual understanding of QP phenomena and properties. Numerous practical applications of abstract QP properties, such as the Scanning Tunneling Microscope or the Transmission Electron Microscope. Topics, such as the wave-particle duality, PE-effect, energy quantization, Heisenberg uncertainty relation and QP tunneling	C: Rick said that conceptual understanding is emphasized as compared with other topics in the curriculum. C: Rick said that his students found QP to be difficult and abstract. C: Rick felt that QP is not a good preparation for physics at university. C: Rick’s students noticed a focus on conceptual understanding. C: Rick’s students experienced little coherence between QP topics.	C: Sarah felt that QP lacked practical applications and context. C: Sarah expressed that QP is too difficult for her students. C: Sarah’s students experienced QP to be different from other topics because conceptual understanding is emphasized. C: Sarah’s students experienced that QP had no practical applications. C: Sarah’s students found QP to be difficult because it is weird and refutes everything that was learned earlier.	C: George stated that the emphasis is on conceptual understanding when teaching QP. C: George felt that QP lacked clear context and applications to help explain QP. C: George expressed that QP is difficult and abstract for students. C: George felt that he lacked knowledge of QP applications and context to improve his teaching. C: George’s students realized that conceptual understanding is emphasized. C: George’s students said that more applications should be addressed.
Learning activities How are students learning?	Demonstration experiments and simulations should help students understanding.	O: Rick appreciated the diversity and coherence between the learning activities. C: Rick felt that there were too many learning activities. C: Rick’s students said that there were too many learning activities and that they took too much time.	O: Sarah valued lecturing and collective classroom discussion when teaching QP. C: Sarah’s students felt that Sarah’s lectures were insufficient to grasp QP topics. C: Sarah’s students said they focused more on understanding theory by reading and summarizing rather than doing problem solving exercises, because conceptual understanding was emphasized. C/O: Sarah’s students watched videos and read internet sites to help them understand QP topics.	O: George felt that lecturing and collective classroom discussion were essential when teaching QP. O: George said that watching videos together with his students helped students understanding. O: George’s students felt that his lectures were beneficial for their understanding of QP. O: George’s students expressed that watching videos helped them visualize abstract QP topics.
Teacher role How is the teacher facilitating students’ learning?	N/A	O: Rick felt that future students would need more substantive support when learning QP. O: Rick’s students wanted him to take on the role of the content expert.	O: Sarah felt that she should be the content expert when teaching QP. C: Sarah’s students said that she was not able to convey QP appropriately. O: Sarah’s students recommended her to work on problem-solving exercises together with her students.	O: George felt that he should be the content expert when teaching QP. O: George helped students understand the essence of videos that were watched collectively during his lessons. O: George’s students valued him as content expert. O: George’s students valued his enthusiasm for the subject.
Materials & resources With what are students learning?	N/A	O: Rick expressed that digital materials supported students’ understanding. O: Rick said that digital materials allowed students to learn QP in different ways. O: Rick’s students said that digital materials helped their understanding.	O: Sarah felt that digital materials are beneficial because they can visualize QP phenomena. C: Sarah seldom used digital materials in her classroom and referenced them in homework assignments. C: Sarah’s students did not use digital materials made available by Sarah. They instead used videos, internet sites they found online to learn about topics they found difficult.	O: George’s students said that digital materials helped visualize QP phenomena.
Grouping With whom are students learning?	N/A	C: Rick’s students found it difficult to collaborate on assignments because every student worked on their own pace.	-	-
Location Where are students learning?	N/A	C: Rick’s students found it difficult to be on task in the classroom because the table setting and the overall layout of the classroom allowed for social talk.	C: Sarah said that students were expected to work at home with several simulations on QP because she lacked the time and computers were not easily available during her lessons. C: Sarah’s students reported that they did not use any simulation at home or at school.	O: George watched the videos in class, so he could guide students’ interpretation of the content. O: George’s students watched the videos in class and at home to rehearse the content that was addressed.
Time When are students learning and how much time does it take them?	N/A	C: Rick’s students said that there were too many learning activities and that they took too much time.	-	-
Assessment How is their learning assessed?	Assessment focused on conceptual understanding. Additionally, new types of questions and more recent context will be included	C: Rick stated that the focus on conceptual understanding in assessment is too much.	C: Sarah felt that QP should not be a part of the national examination. C/O: Sarah’s students used various digital materials, such as videos and internet sites to prepare for their examinations.	C: George felt that students have problems assessing their own understanding. O: George wanted to add more diagnostic questions so students could assess their own learning better. O: George’s students wanted more diagnostic questions to assess their own understanding.

O: Opportunity & C: Challenge

Van den Akker, J. 2003. “Curriculum Perspectives: An Introduction.” In Curriculum Landscapes and Trends, edited by J. van den Akker, W. Kuiper, and U. Hameyer, 1–10. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

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Van den Akker, J. 2013. “Curricular Development Research as Specimen of Educational Design Research.” In Educational Design Research: An Introduction Part A, edited by, T. Plomp and N. Nieveen, 53–70. Enschede, the Netherlands, SLO. Retrieved from downloads.slo.nl/Documenten/educational-design-research-part-a.pdf

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