Framing difficulties in quantum mechanics

Abstract

Students’ difficulties in quantum mechanics may be the result of unproductive framing rather than a fundamental inability to solve the problems or misconceptions about physics content. Using the theoretical lens of epistemological framing, we applied previously developed frames to seek an underlying structure to the long lists of published difficulties that span many topics in quantum mechanics. Mapping descriptions of published difficulties into errors in epistemological framing and resource use, we analyzed descriptions of students’ problem solving to find their frames, and compared students’ framing to the framing (and frame shifting) required by problem statements. We found three categories of error: mismatches between students’ framing and problem statement framing inappropriate or absent shifting between frames and insufficient resource activation within an appropriate frame.