Quantun mechanics concepts in teacher s preparation: A narrative of a didactical experience centered in the use of virtual experiments

Abstract

In this work, we present a new formulation of a conceptual Quantum Mechanics (QM) unit. The implementation of this unit took place in the Modern and Contemporary Physics Topics I course, which is part of the graduate curriculum designed for preparing Masters in Physics Teaching Education at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The aim of this article is to describe this new formulation and the qualitative results obtained through a reapplication of a questionnaire previously constructed about QM basic conceptions. The unit is centered in the use of new technologies to promote meaningful learning about QM central concepts. Two softwares ( free ) concerning virtual experiments were used as didactical resources together with an especially elaborated tutorial. After the implementation of the conceptual QM unit, centered in the use of the mentioned softwares, it was possible to observe changes in the teachers students conceptions, especially those involved with the distinction between classical and quantum objects.