RUME 27
2025
Alexandria, Virginia
Pedagogical Moves Related to Analogy That Support a Unified Understanding of Eigenequations in a Quantum Mechanics Class
Page: 132
We analyze the pedagogical moves related to analogies used by a quantum mechanics instructor to support a class community in developing a shared unified understanding of eigenequations across the contexts of linear algebra, spin, energy, and position. We characterize an instructor’s pedagogical moves as he engaged students in analogical reasoning. Some moves include posing tasks conducive to analogizing; preparing, soliciting, and scaffolding students’ participation in analogical reasoning; using deictic gestures and inscriptions; juxtaposing symbols representing the analogized concepts; and explicitly highlighting the sameness of the analogized concepts. We exemplify these pedagogical moves with analytical descriptions of illustrative class episodes. We discuss how these moves can support the class community’s expansion of their common ground by fostering the development of the class’s shared unified understandings of eigenequations.