The Pedagogical Power of Quantum Metaphors: Rethinking the Student as a Contextual Being

Abstract

This study examines how quantum metaphors such as wave-particle duality, observer effect, uncertainty principle, and superposition reframe the ontology of the learner in educational contexts. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, the research explores how fifteen undergraduate physics students perceive their learning experiences through these metaphors. Findings reveal that learners do not possess fixed, measurable identities. Instead, they emerge as fluid, relational beings whose subjectivities are continuously shaped by contextual interactions. Wave-particle duality highlights the fragile multiplicity of student identity, while the observer effect shows how pedagogical environments reconstruct self-perception through observation. The uncertainty principle reflects students' epistemological disorientation and ontological instability, and superposition reveals the coexistence of conflicting roles and desires. The study critiques traditional assessment practices that reduce learners to standardized outcomes, advocating for formative and process-centered evaluations that acknowledge complexity and becoming. Through the notion of quantum pedagogy, the research proposes a dynamic, observer-dependent understanding of learner subjectivity. Ultimately, quantum metaphors are positioned not merely as explanatory devices but as critical tools for reimagining pedagogical existence, offering a framework attuned to the complexities of contemporary education.

Keywords

• Contextual learning
• educational ontology
• pedagogical subjectivity
• quantum metaphors
• student identity

Kuantum Metaforlarının Pedagojik Gücü: Öğrenciyi Bağlamsal Bir Varlık Olarak Yeniden Düşünmek

Öz

Bu çalışma, kuantum metaforlarının -dalga-parçacık ikiliği, gözlemci etkisi, belirsizlik ilkesi ve süperpozisyon- eğitim bağlamlarında öğrenenin ontolojisini nasıl çerçevelediğini incelemektedir. Araştırma, yorumlayıcı fenomenolojik analiz kullanarak, on beş lisans fizik öğrencisinin öğrenme deneyimlerini bu metaforlar aracılığıyla nasıl algıladıklarını incelemektedir. Bulgular, öğrenenlerin sabit, ölçülebilir kimliklere sahip olmadıklarını ortaya koymaktadır. Bunun yerine, öznellikleri sürekli olarak bağlamsal etkileşimlerle şekillenen akışkan, ilişkisel varlıklar olarak ortaya çıkmaktadırlar. Dalga-parçacık ikiliği öğrenci kimliğinin kırılgan çokluğunu vurgularken, gözlemci etkisi pedagojik ortamların gözlem yoluyla benlik algısını nasıl yeniden yapılandırdığını göstermektedir. Belirsizlik ilkesi öğrencilerin epistemolojik yönelim bozukluğunu ve ontolojik istikrarsızlığını yansıtırken, süperpozisyon ise çatışan rollerin ve arzuların bir arada var olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Çalışma, öğrencileri standartlaştırılmış sonuçlara indirgeyen geleneksel değerlendirme uygulamalarını eleştirmekte, karmaşıklığı ve oluşu kabul eden biçimlendirici ve süreç merkezli değerlendirmeleri savunmaktadır. Kuantum pedagojisi kavramı aracılığıyla araştırma, öğrenen öznelliğine ilişkin dinamik, gözlemciye bağlı bir anlayış önermektedir. Sonuç olarak, kuantum metaforları yalnızca açıklayıcı araçlar olarak değil, pedagojik varoluşun yeniden tasarlanması için kritik araçlar olarak konumlandırılmakta ve çağdaş eğitimin karmaşıklıklarına uygun bir çerçeve sunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Bağlamsal öğrenme
• eğitimsel ontoloji
• pedagojik öznellik
• kuantum metaforları
• öğrenci kimliği

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