How Media Hype Affects Our Physics Teaching: A Case Study on Quantum Computing

Abstract

Popular media is an unspoken yet ever-present element of the physics landscape and a tool we can utilize in our teaching. It is also well-understood that students enter the physics classroom with a host of conceptions learned from the world at large. It stands to reason, then, to suspect that media coverage may be a major contributing factor to students' views on physical phenomena and the nature of science - one whose influence will only grow amid the 21st century digital age. Yet the role of the media in shaping physics teaching and learning has remained largely unexplored in the physics education research (PER) literature so far. Here, we explore the phenomenon of media hype from a theoretical and practical perspective: how media rhetoric of current topics in science and technology evolves, and how it affects students and instructors. We argue that media hype of cutting-edge science can be a double-edged sword for educators, with the same amped-up rhetoric that motivates students to enter the classroom tending to result in inflated preconceptions of what the science and technology can actually do. We draw on examples related to teaching quantum computing as a case study, though the findings we present should generalize to other topics garnering significant media attention - from exoplanets to graphene to batteries for electric vehicles. We conclude with a set of practical recommendations for physics teachers at all levels who wish to be more cognizant of the role exposure to popular media has on students and to tailor our teaching accordingly.