From the Wave Function to Quantum-Technology Modeling: A Conjectured Learning Progression for Introductory Quantum Mechanics in General Physics

Abstract

This article presents and evaluates an instructional module organized around a conjectured learning progression for introductory quantum mechanics in a general physics course, aiming to develop quantum-technology literacy among undergraduate engineering students. The study is situated in a Vietnamese context where quantum technology is increasingly framed as a strategic technology area, but the central focus remains a physics education research problem: how students understand, use, and delimit quantum models. The intervention was organized as a 5–40–15 contact-hour sequence: 5 hours of historical-conceptual introduction, 40 hours on core quantum models, and 15 hours of open-ended modeling tasks in which students analyzed technological contexts using introductory quantum ideas. A quasi-experimental mixed-methods design was used with an intervention group [Formula: see text] and a comparison group [Formula: see text], combining pre/post conceptual testing, analysis of student products, and directed qualitative content analysis of paired written explanations. The groups had similar pre-test scores on the measured conceptual construct, whereas the intervention group achieved a higher post-test score ([Formula: see text] versus [Formula: see text] on a 12-point scale), a higher normalized gain ([Formula: see text] versus [Formula: see text]), and a between-condition difference that remained after adjustment for pre-test score in the student-level ANCOVA model. Analysis of the final group products showed evidence of representational competence and model–application connections, while explicit articulation of model limitations remained comparatively weak. Qualitative analysis identified persistent difficulties in interpreting [Formula: see text], explaining tunneling without classical barrier-crossing intuition, and distinguishing superposition from lack of information. The contribution is positioned as an empirical examination of an integrated instructional design rather than as validation of a wholly new theory. The module was guided by a conjectured progression connecting wave-function and Schrödinger-equation difficulties to introductory quantum-technology modeling; the present study does not test sequential movement of individual students through the proposed L0–L4 levels.