To address the misconceptions that students typically hold concerning quantum mechanics, instructors should couple computer-based visualizations with research-based pedagogical strategies.

We are investigating the difficulties students have in learning quantum mechanics. Here, we discuss the difficulties related to the formalism of quantum mechanics. These difficulties were identified by conducting more than 100 hours of individual interviews with students and by administering written surveys to students. We are developing and evaluating tutorials to help improve student understanding of quantum mechanics formalism.

Quantum information science and technology is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field drawing researchers from science and engineering fields. Traditional instruction in quantum mechanics is insufficient to prepare students for research in quantum computing because there is a lack of emphasis in the current curriculum on quantum formalism and dynamics. We are investigating the difficulties students have with quantum mechanics and developing and evaluating quantum interactive learning tutorials (QuILTs) to reduce the difficulties.

We developed a survey to probe student understanding of quantum mechanics concepts at the beginning of graduate instruction. The survey was administered to 202 graduate students in physics enrolled in first-year quantum mechanics courses from seven different universities at the beginning of the first semester. We also conducted one-on-one interviews with fifteen graduate students or advanced undergraduate students who had just finished a course in which all the content on the survey was covered. We find that students share universal difficulties about fundamental quantum mechanics concepts.

We investigate the difficulties that undergraduate students in quantum mechanics courses have in transferring learning from previous courses or within the same course from one context to another by administering written tests and conducting individual interviews. Quantum mechanics is abstract and its paradigm is very different from the classical one. A good grasp of the principles of quantum mechanics requires creating and organizing a knowledge structure consistent with the quantum postulates.

We investigate the difficulties that advanced undergraduate students have in understanding quantum measurements and time development toward the end of a full year upper-level quantum mechanics course. Our analysis is based upon a test administered to 89 students from six Universities and individual interviews with students. We find a number of common difficulties by analyzing the student responses. It is striking that most students shared the same difficulties, despite the variance in their background and the variety of teaching styles and textbooks.

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.