Recent Progress on the Sum over Paths Approach in Quantum Mechanics Education

Abstract

In this paper, we present an overview of recent developments in the Feynman sum over paths approach for teaching introductory quantum mechanics to high school students and university undergraduates. A turning point in recent research is identified in the clarification of the distinction between the time-dependent and time-independent approaches, and it is shown how the adoption of the latter has allowed new educational reconstructions to proceed much farther beyond what had previously been achieved. It is argued that sum over paths has now reached full maturity as an educational reconstruction of quantum physics and offers several advantages with respect to other approaches in terms of leading students to develop consistent mental models of quantum phenomena, achieving better conceptual understanding and a higher degree of longitudinal integration of knowledge.