Learning and retention of quantum concepts with different teaching methods

We measured mastery and retention of conceptual understanding of quantum mechanics in a modern physics course. This was studied for two equivalent cohorts of students taught with different pedagogical approaches using the Quantum Mechanics Conceptual Survey. We measured the impact of pedagogical approach both on the original conceptual learning and on long-term retention. The cohort of students who had a very highly rated traditional lecturer scored 19% lower than the equivalent cohort that was taught using interactive engagement methods. However, the amount of retention was very high for both cohorts, showing only a few percent decrease in scores when retested 6 and 18 months after completion of the course and with no exposure to the material in the interim period. This high level of retention is in striking contrast to the retention measured for more factual learning from university courses and argues for the value of emphasizing conceptual learning.

Figure 1

Scores on the Quantum Mechanics Concept Survey (QMCS) vs retention interval. Blue circles: traditional lecture retention study group. Red squares: interactive engagement retention study group. The dashed lines are the retention curves for the average student from the university consumer behavior course measured in Ref. 3 for comparison. The curves have been scaled to a baseline of 29%, which is the QMCS score achieved by random guessing.