A concept map design for identification and correction of students misconceptions about wave-particle duality of light

The concept of wave-particle duality plays a central role in explaining quantum phenomena. It is often cited as the symbolic barrier that must be overcome to develop the abstract thinking necessary to understand these phenomena. Scientific research shows that a large part of students’ difficulties in understanding this concept is due to their subjective perceptions (misconceptions) that are incompatible with the scientific ideas. To increase the effectiveness of teaching the concept of waveparticle duality, research on the misconceptions and a renewal of the didactic tools are needed. This article presents a list of typical misconceptions about the waveparticle duality of light that are described in the scientific literature. We propose the design of a concept map for the wave-particle duality of light, which can be used both as a teaching resource and as a tool for identifying the misconceptions of students from different educational levels (mandatory and additional physics education in secondary school and education in physics and engineering in undergraduate programs). This paper and the literature cited in it can be used as a basis for pedagogical studies of students’ conceptual difficulties about wave-particle duality of light.