Teaching Quantum Physics at Secondary Schools: A Systematic Literature Review

Quantum Physics (QP) a topic that is dealt at the university level. However, QP is beginning to be introduced at secondary schools. The aim of this study is to analyse the extent to which QP has been applied at secondary schools, what teaching methods teachers used to teach QP and what challenges teachers faced when teaching QP. This systematic literature review focus on empirical studies published from 2017 to 2022 in English and in these three databases: SCOPUS, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Based on the PRISMA methodology, 24 articles were selected and thematically analysed. The themes identified on teaching methods were: 1) Using technology in teaching QP, 2) Experimental based learning and 3). Role of nature of science. Teachers faced three major challenges in teaching QP. First and second challenges are related to lack of laboratory equipment and related references respectively. The third challenge is o n teachers’ misconceptions of QP concepts. The study draws the conclusion that teachers require training that focuses on teaching methods relevant for secondary school students. Future research to overcome teachers’ misconception for QP is imperative.


Introduction
Quantum Physics (QP) is usually studied at fourth year of physics undergraduate program at the university.QP is one of the many abstract topics in physics which students need a strong knowledge and skills in physics and mathematics to understand and solve problems based on QP.There are several reasons why quantum physics (QP), which is not just about mathematics calculation, should be included in secondary school curricula.First, QP must be taught in high school and should not be restricted to 19th-century physics because it is essential for our contemporary scientific worldview, (Kaur et al., 2017;Pospiech, 2009).Quantum-related studies of physics are on the rise in today's increasingly modern world, producing equipment such as solar cells, microchips, and lasers.To trigger students' interest in this field and quantum technology, QP is introduced at the secondary school.Based on Einstein's theory of relativity, teachers should take the opportunity to show interesting insight into physics especially in QP which not only personifies scientists but also students (Bungum and AND are used for combining keywords at the start of the advanced search procedure.Handpicking, backtracking, and forward tracking were used for manual author search.As for the eligibility criteria, pre-reviewed and published studies in a scholarly journal will be selected (Newspapers, proceeding and magazines were excluded).
The research question is based on references from earlier investigations by (Stephanie et al. 2021).All the articles sought are related to the teaching methods and challenges in teaching QP.The authors used mnemonics PICo which represents 'P' (Population or Problem), 'I' (interest) and 'Co' (Context) (Lockwood et al. 2015).Based on PICo, the authors selected secondary school teachers (Population), teaching strategy (Interest), and quantum physics (QP) (context) as the factors for this SLR.Therefore, the primary inquiry of this study is: "How does a high school teacher teach quantum physics?" The study involves four steps: identification, screening, eligibility, gathering data and analysing the results.The author specifies keywords for the identification process, including teaching strategies, high school teachers, and quantum physics.The authors were able to develop these terms further by using an online lexicon, reviewing keywords from prior studies, consulting SCOPUS' suggested keywords, and consulting subject-matter experts.Several terms related to teaching strategy and QP, such as teaching method, learning approach, learning strategy, teaching culture, pedagogy, quantum mechanics, quantum dan physics were checked based on this procedure.Using Boolean operators, these keyword combinations were examined in the Web of Sciences and SCOPUS databases (Table 1), while the handpicking method is used to select studies from Google Scholar.The authors solely concentrate on quantum physics teaching strategies for high school students.After thorough scanning, 263 suitable articles were found from the selected databases.The second process was screening, in which publications were either included or eliminated from the research based on a specific set of criteria manually or with the use of the database as shown in Table 2. Based on the idea of "research field maturity," Kraus et al. (2020) said that this review restricted the screening procedure to only include the papers published between 2017 and 2022.
This timeframe was chosen because there was enough published research to allow for a thorough review.The authors made the choice to evaluate a study that was exclusively published in scholarly journals and had a research design pertaining to QP teaching methods.
Notably, only research articles written in English were taken into consideration to prevent confusion.263 papers were disregarded because they did not adhere to the SLR's standards, which were to derive a QP teaching method from the studies that had been conducted.Therefore, 40 articles were left for consideration in the following step.The third process was eligibility, where authors need to review the articles manually by reading abstract, methodology, analysing data or overall, of the articles to see whether it met the predetermined inclusion criteria or not.During the title screening phase, 177 articles were disqualified, while 62 articles were eliminated during the abstract screening phase.From SCOPUS and Web of sciences only 19 articles can be used for this SLR, the authors add another 5 articles by handpicking in Google Scholar.Only 24 papers were ultimately selected for the quality assessment step (Figure 1).

DATA ANALYSIS
The quality assessment stage was carried out to make sure the methodology and analysis of the chosen studies were adequately finished.The Mixed-Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT) developed by Hong et al. (2018) was employed for this purpose.The purpose of using MMAT is to evaluate the studies conducted are systematic and structured.For the qualitative research the articles were thematically evaluated to show the best ways to include the variations through qualitative synthesis (Whittemore and Knafl 2005).By identifying any similarities or links that may exist in the current data, thematic analysis seeks to find and alert the pattern of previous studies (Braun and Clarke 2019).From the analysis, there are 6 out of twenty-four articles using qualitative research.Based on the steps proposed by Kiger and Varpio (2020), thematic synthesis is carried out and each article will be reviewed based on pre-set themes.All the articles used interview as the instrument to get data from respondents.The analysis is shown in table 3.
Meta-analysis is a synthesis technique that focuses on the benefits and/or harms of therapy across several studies to provide the best estimate regarding the effect of an intervention (Morton et al. 2017).Meta-analysis is a quantitative synthesis of review data.Twelve articles used the quantitative method in the study, where the focus of the study was on pupils, teachers, and prospective teachers.Based on the analysis, two articles used test instrument and questionnaire with quasi experimental design.Meanwhile, nine studies used questionnaire.The result is shown in table 3.
Data extracted from databases: Scopus, WOS and Google Scholar (n = 263) The search was conducted using words like teaching strategy, teaching method, quantum physics, and quantum mechanics.To find, examine, and report on themes (or patterns) within the data, thematic analysis Braun and Clarke (2006) was utilised.The author analysis's themes from articles, each theme aims to summarise key facts regarding the data, Kelly et al. (2019).The thematic analysis is used to find, examine, and interpret patterns or themes in a dataset or text.To find repeating themes, concepts, or meaning patterns in data, it entails methodically classifying and categorising the information.Researchers can learn more about the participants' viewpoints, experiences, or social phenomena by using thematic analysis to examine and comprehend the underlying themes or issues that appear in the data, Braun and Clarke (2006).
To come up with a theme, the author read 24 articles and preset themes for QP teaching methods.Theme emerged for teaching strategies were: i) teaching method using computers technology; ii) Experimental based learning; and iii) teaching based on the nature of sciences (NOS).As for challenges the themes were: i) Infrastructure; ii) misconception in QP and iii) textbook.

Study-focused countries
The authors have identified the country that carried out the QP-related studies based on the 24 articles.The number of countries that have done a study of QP is shown in figure 1 and the authors for all the articles are shown in Table 3.  2019) also shows the country of the Netherlands included twelve subtopics in the QP curricula.Italy also conducted a lot of QP-related studies as the QP curricula has been included in secondary school since 2010 with ten subtopics introduced.
The results of the analysis of 24 articles showed that there is an increase in studies from 2020 to 2022. Figure 2 shows the number of articles published since 2017.The increase   2016) claim that the mix method is the most effective for resolving problems by considering them from a variety of angles.Mixed methods research allows researchers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the research topic by integrating both qualitative and quantitative data.Qualitative methods provide in-depth insights, capturing rich contextual information and exploring complex phenomena, while quantitative methods provide numerical data for statistical analysis and generalizability.All seven articles used interview to collect data from small group and questionnaire to get more data in big group using questionnaire.The summarise for the methodology used in the research shown in table 3, twelve articles used quantitative method, six researcher used qualitative method and mix method respectively.For future research, it is suggested that researchers use qualitative methods because researchers will be able to gather information by focusing on exploring insights, meanings, experiences, and deep attitudes by using methods such as interviews, observations, text analysis, and case studies collected, examined, and interpreted.
Based on the systematic literature analysis, 12 articles used students as the sample in their research and six researchers focus on physics teachers as shown in table 3.This shows that more researchers focus on students as a sample and focused on understanding the concept of QP among students.Therefore, future studies should focus on teaching methods and what challenges teachers face.The focus should be on teachers first as teachers play an important role in introducing the QP fundamental to pupils using the effective and diverse teaching methods.Effective teaching methods and a strong understanding of a subject content are necessary for both teaching and learning physics especially in quantum physics.Despite the study's focus on electromagnetism, it offers insights into instructional approaches that also apply to the field of quantum physics.Along with the advancement of quantum physics in high school physics, the quantum physics teaching methodology is also advancing.

Teaching methods using computer and technology.
Using technology to teach quantum physics can be a successful and interesting method since it enables students to interact with simulations, visualise abstract ideas, and investigate complex phenomena more fully.The research investigates the effectiveness of various teaching approaches, including interactive simulations and visualisation tools, in promoting conceptual understanding and engagement among students.The impact of technology-enabled active learning on undergraduate students' comprehension of electromagnetic topics is examined in the study by Dori and Belcher (2005).The study of quantum physics teaching methods shows eleven articles mentioning using technology to teach QP, the data analysis shown in table 5.A lot of free digital materials are provided, and this is an opportunity for teachers to help students understand the concept of QP and students also could be directly involved in learning and helping improve their conceptual understanding (Bouchée et al. 2021).Based on Silberman's (2022) study, the PowerPoint slide have been prepared for teacher and they can used it in teaching QP as the teaching material or aids.Teachers can also provide QP teaching materials by using power points.The materials provided in a clear PowerPoint and with QPbased description examples will help facilitate students' understanding, Kirsten et al. (2022).A PowerPoint slideshow that starts with a question that allows students to make initial assumptions and this will be a simulation for students to delve deeper into the QP concepts to be learned.The display of videos and pictures in PowerPoint slides will also help the teacher to make it easier for students to understand QP.
When teaching quantum physics, computer games and videos can be used as a teaching approach.Based on Maria Luisa et al. ( 2022), teacher can show a video to students about QP, superposition, and entanglement, and introducing students to a formal description of quantum states.After watching the video, teacher can engage students and test their understanding with playing Tiq Taq-Toe game application.From the game students can used their understanding in QP and they can also identify any misunderstanding.Philipp (2021) also stated that there are online sources that teacher can used to learn about fundamental of QP and teaching sequence.
Anggara et al. ( 2021) and Putri and Irma (2022) stated that computer simulations such as digital worksheet Phet simulation and simulation representation of QP will help teacher teach QP.One computer simulation developed by The University of Colorado Boulder's PhET Interactive Simulations offers a variety of interactive simulations for teaching quantum mechanics.The study also found that it was possible to improve high school pupils' high order thinking skill (HOTS) in quantum physics using a digital worksheet with a PhET simulation on quantum physics events Anggara Budi et al. (2021).Based on Anggara Budi et al. ( 2021), the research conducted by using digital worksheet only.Based on Wieman and Perkins (2005), it is important for interactive simulations, including those available on the Phet platform, in transforming physics education.To maximise the benefit of Phet simulation, teachers need to explore and use Phet simulation in class frequently, this will make students engaged with QP and make them understand QP easily.
Technology applications give students the opportunity to investigate quantum phenomena and carry out virtual experiments.Pallotta et al (2022) in their study stated that teachers can conduct interactive experiment of the photon in the classroom by using a technology to stimulate students and their understanding.By using digital material and technology, it can support students understanding, (T.Bouchée, et al. (2021)).They can understand the theory and concept in QP.There are many online resources for teaching quantum physics, including webpages, videos, and interactive platforms.To improve accessibility and engagement, these tools frequently use interactive simulations, visualisations, and computer aids.
Using a digital lab workshop, instructors may help students better comprehend quantum physics.The digital laboratory workshop is a virtual, interactive computer lab that simulates quantum physics physical phenomena that are challenging or impossible to explore using current laboratory apparatus, Leonid et a. ( 2020).The goal of the digital laboratory workshop is to establish a link between the mathematical formalism of quantum physics and its specific applications by focusing on the physical side of the issues being discussed.Teachers can use digital labs to help students understand QP despite not having enough tools to conduct experiments.The method of teaching using computer assistance is effective in helping students understand QP, but if teachers do not have knowledge related to Phet simulation and digital labs they will not be able to use this teaching method when teaching QP.Based on the studies conducted only discussed about the introduction of simulations and the application of learning using computers, but discussions on how to use simulations were not much studied.There is less discussion regarding workshops or courses conducted for teachers to learn this technology especially in simulation.

Experimental-based teaching.
Experiment-based QP instruction can be a very successful technique to engage secondary school students and aid in their understanding of the fundamental ideas behind quantum mechanics.The teacher can choose the appropriate sub-topics for conducting experiments.Most teachers choose to teach traditionally rather than conduct experiments, whereas according to Philipp and Jan-Peter (2020) idea avoids the conventional historical approach to address the dearth of contemporary concepts in quantum physics by offering an experimentally based guideway to various areas of contemporary quantum physics.F A Pradana et al. (2019) and Gregory et al. (2020) in their studies also discuss that most of the teacher prefer to use traditional teaching method rather than another method.From this SLR, some studies have been conducted based on teaching methods used experimental based learning.( see table 6);  Experimental-based learning in quantum physics is a highly effective approach to engage students in the subject matter and develop their understanding of quantum phenomena through hands-on exploration.By actively participating in experiments, students can directly observe and manipulate quantum systems, enabling them to develop a deeper appreciation for the fundamental principles of quantum physics, Hestenes et al. (1995).Four articles discuss experimental-based learning in QP in this SLR.When students conducted the experiment, they will used a laboratory tool and measuring instrument, this will help students to understands the fundamental of QP, F Pallotta et al (2022).Marco et al. (2021) and Massimiliano et al. (2017), in their studied found that hands on experiment are the important tools in studying QP, students can understand QP based on their observation.Putri and Irma (2022) mention in their studies, laboratory experiments are one of the methods that can be used in teaching QP but because of the lack facilities in school's lab, so the experiment cannot be conducted successfully.
An experiment such as Quantum Measurement Experiments: Measurement plays a crucial role in quantum physics, and conducting experiments related to quantum measurement can help students grasp its significance.Activities involving Stern-Gerlach apparatus, which demonstrate the quantization of angular momentum, or experiments related to the measurement of particle properties like spin, position, or energy, provide students with practical insights into the measurement process and its impact on quantum systems.
When implementing experimental-based learning in quantum physics, it is essential to provide students with guidance, scaffold their understanding, and encourage reflection on their observations.Connecting the experimental results to theoretical concepts and engaging students in discussions about the implications of their findings can further deepen their understanding of quantum physics.

Nature of Science.
Teachers need a suitable teaching strategy by considering the nature of science (NOS) when instructing students in quantum physics to match their knowledge and cognitive capabilities.Teachers need to know the NOS of the students then choose a suitable method to teach QP because students need to develop a deeper understanding of the scientific process, the characteristics of scientific knowledge, and the ways in which scientific theories in QP.Based on the analysis, Leonid et al. (2020), Kirsten and Martin (2022)  Based on nature of science (NOS) students, Efraim et al. (2022) suggest Disciplineculture (DC)'s approach to curriculum offers a solution for overcoming its substantial challenges.Stadermann and Goedhart (2021) discussed instructional activities such as narrative and explanation, explanatory video, concept questions, peer instructions, dialogic discourse, short written task, and role model can be used based on students' NOS.
Based on activities suggested teacher can create different lessons based on students need and available materials, reflecting their personal preferences.For future research, one can focussed on teaching methods based on NOS students and provide training to teachers.

What are the challenges identified in teaching strategy in quantum physics?
Teaching quantum physics presents several unique challenges due to its abstract nature and departure from classical physics concepts.As the QP is introduced at the secondary school level, many teachers face the challenge of teaching QP topics.From the analysed article the authors discuss themes related to challenges for teachers namely: i) Infrastructure; ii) misconception in QP and iii) textbooks.

Infrastructure
To support effective education and offer students hands-on learning opportunities, teaching QP requires specific infrastructure and resources.Based on Leonid et al. (2020) research, they stated that experiment is a very effective teaching technique for physics.To conduct the experiment, all the apparatus and material must be in a good condition and enough.Based on the analysis result as shown in table 8, three articles stated the important of enough infrastructure especially in laboratory.2020) stated high expense of experimental infrastructure and the expansion of safety regulations is the factor why effective experiment cannot be done.Efraim et al. (2022) in their research stated that the concept of uncertainty may represent an experimental limit that might be reduced by applying better tools or techniques.Virtual simulation of a real-world experience is created by a computer experiment and can be used widely in teaching, but the lack of tools caused some of students cannot access the simulation and technology.

Misconceptions from a quantum perspective.
Krijtenburg-Lewerissa et al. ( 2017) have conducted research, and the result from a pilot test they did they reported that there are misconceptions in photoelectric, photoelectric is one of the subtopics of QP.Students are asked to predict the mechanism underlying the photoelectric effect, out of 42 pairs, four gave the answer "ionisation," four gave the answer "photons and electrons collide," and three gave the answer "voltage is needed for the effect."The results showed that some of the students have misconceptions, Krijtenburg-Lewerissa et al. (2017).So, this is a challenge for teachers where teachers need to address students' misconceptions and spend more time explaining.The results are shown in table 9.The teacher plays a role in explaining the concept of QP to students, but if the teacher explains incorrectly the photoelectric effect will also lead to misunderstandings in QP, Luiza Vilarta et al. (2020).Teachers who are poorly prepared in terms of QP content will cause them to misrepresent the concept of QP to students.Teachers also have forgotten the QP content since most likely the teachers last encounter with the QP at their undergraduate studies.
Kristóf (2022) discussed a few of the challenges that instructors may encounter when learning new approaches to quality improvement.Based on Kristof's research, s teachers need training programs with the expertise to avoid misconception.Teachers need a solid understanding of quantum physics concepts and principles.Participating in professional development programs, attending workshops, or pursuing advanced courses in quantum physics can help teachers deepen their content knowledge.Collaborating with other educators can provide insightful advice and supportive guidance.Not many studies were conducted on teachers participating in professional organisations to improve their understanding of QP and avoid misconceptions.

Textbook
Teachers use textbooks as guides and references during QP lessons.15 articles as shown in table 9 state that textbook is used by physics teachers at the secondary school as a reference during teaching, problems solving and explain the applications of QP.Table 9: Textbook as the resource.
Challenges: Implementation Authors and year Textbook Electronic book.Textbook  2022) textbook is use by teacher in QP class to explain the important concepts.From table 9, the articles stated most of the teacher used the textbook in conventional teaching method where teacher explain QP based on textbook.Teacher refers to the concepts, examples and application shown in textbook without providing other examples from different sources.Thus, one can conclude that concepts explained in textbooks should be free of misconceptions as teachers depend heavily on it.One possible recommendation is to conduct a content analysis of textbooks to identify various ways of presenting QP concepts in a comprehensible way to the students.In addition, ensuring that textbook explanation is free of misconceptions.

Conclusion
The recent literature review about QP in secondary schools showed that QP is included at the school curriculum in an increasing number of countries including Malaysia.The teaching of quantum physics is mostly done through experiments and computer assisted teaching.Both methods would require sufficient infrastructure thus schools need to be prepared in terms of its availability.In addition, the role of nature of science, is highlighted as an effective way of teaching QP.However, more research in needed in determining ways to integrate NOS meaningful when teaching QP.Finally, teachers understanding of QP is crucial for ensuring effective teaching and learning of QP at schools.With the assistance of misconception free textbooks and continuous professional development for the teachersthus would lessen the challenges of teachers teaching QP at secondary schools.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: Number of studies based on the country.Based on the number of studies focused by country, it shows that Netherlands is the most country studied about QP.Based on the research by Staderman et al. (2019), Netherlands had implemented QP in the curricula since 2016.Staderman et al. (2019) also shows the country of the Netherlands included twelve subtopics in the QP curricula.Italy also conducted a lot of QP-related studies as the QP curricula has been included in secondary school since 2010 with ten subtopics introduced.The results of the analysis of 24 articles showed that there is an increase in studies from 2020 to 2022.Figure2shows the number of articles published since 2017.The increase

Figure 2 :
Figure 2: Year of selected research publication.In 2017 only USA and Italy did research about QP.The focus was on the method of teaching QP and how to increase the ability of students to connect different ideas and experiments related to quantum theory(Massimiliano et al. (2017)  The issue of QP became so important that the increase in studies every year and in 2022 a total of nine studies were conducted and four of them were reviewed by researchers from the Netherlands.Researchers began to focus the study on the most effective teaching methods and what challenges teachers face to teach QP.

Table 2 :
Criteria for inclusion and exclusion

Table 3 :
Summary of Country, Methodology, Instrument and Sample Size of 24 Selected Articles.
studies occurred as more and more countries included curricula QP at the high school level.Staderman et al. (2019)has studied 15 curricula of QP in 2015, that only three countries namely Spain, Belgium, and Scotland out of 15 countries included curricula QP in secondary schools and in 2016 an increase of seven countries included QP in curricula.Figure2shows the number of articles published from 2017 to 2022. in

Table 5 :
Teaching method using computer and technology.

Table 6 :
Analysis of teaching methods using experimental based learning.

Table 7 :
stated that teachers need to mention and used NOS in QP (see table7); Nature of Science.

Table 8 :
The infrastructure for teaching QP.A study conducted by Maria Luisa et al. (2022), games method to teach QP, but the tool must be provided in a good condition and adequate.Leonid et al. (