Physics education research

Last updated September 16, 2024

Physics education research (PER) is a form of discipline-based education research specifically related to the study of the teaching and learning of physics, often with the aim of improving the effectiveness of student learning. PER draws from other disciplines, such as sociology, cognitive science, education and linguistics, ^[1] and complements them by reflecting the disciplinary knowledge and practices of physics.^[2] Approximately eighty-five institutions in the United States conduct research in science and physics education.

Goals

Number of Publications on Students' Ideas on the Bibliography by Duit (2005)
Fragment	Publication

Mechanics (force)*	792
Electricity (electrical circuit)	444
Optics	234
Particle model	226
Thermal physics (heat/temp.)	192
Energy	176
Astronomy (Earth in space)	121
Quantum physics	77
Nonlinear systems (chaos)	35
Sound	28
Magnetism	25
Relativity	8

* Predominant concept in brackets. Adapted from Duit, R., H. Niedderer and H. Schecker (see ref.).

One primary goal of PER is to develop pedagogical techniques and strategies that will help students learn physics more effectively and help instructors to implement these techniques. Because even basic ideas in physics can be confusing, together with the possibility of scientific misconceptions formed from teaching through analogies, lecturing often does not erase common misconceptions about physics that students acquire before they are taught physics. Research often focuses on learning more about common misconceptions that students bring to the physics classroom so that techniques can be devised to help students overcome these misconceptions.

In most introductory physics courses, mechanics is usually the first area of physics that is taught. Newton's laws of motion about interactions between forces and objects are central to the study of mechanics. Many students hold the Aristotelian misconception that a net force is required to keep a body moving; instead, motion is modeled in modern physics with Newton's first law of inertia, stating that a body will keep its state of rest or movement unless a net force acts on the body. Like students who hold this misconception, Newton arrived at his three laws of motion through empirical analysis, although he did it with an extensive study of data that included astronomical observations. Students can erase such as misconception in a nearly frictionless environment, where they find that objects move at an almost constant velocity without a constant force.

Major areas

The broad goal of the PER community is to understand the processes involved in the teaching and learning of physics through rigorous scientific investigation.

According to the University of Washington PER group, one of the pioneers in the field,^[3] work within PER tends to fall within one or more of several broad descriptions, including:

Identifying student difficulties
Developing methods to address these difficulties and measure learning gains
Developing surveys to measure student performance and other characteristics
Investigating student attitudes and beliefs as relating to physics
Studying small and large group dynamics analyzing student patterns using framing and other new and existing epistemological methods^[4]

"An Introduction to Physics Education Research", by Robert Beichner,^[5] identifies eight trends in PER:

Conceptual understanding: Investigating what students know and how they learn it is a centerpiece of PER. Early research involved identifying and treating misconceptions about the principles of physics. The term has since evolved to "student difficulties" based on the consideration of alternative theoretical frameworks for student learning. A difficulty with a concept can be built into a correct concept; a misconception is rooted out and replaced by a correct conception. The PER group at the University of Washington specializes in research about conceptual understanding and student difficulty.^[6]
Epistemology: PER began as a trial-and-error approach to improve learning. Because of the downsides of such an approach, theoretical bases for research were developed early on, most notably through the University of Maryland. The theoretical underpinnings of PER are mostly built around Piagettean constructivism. Theories on cognition in physics learning were put forward by Redish, Hammer, Elby and Scherr,^[7] who built off of diSessa's "Knowledge in Pieces". The Resources Framework,^[8] developed from this work, builds off of research in neuroscience, sociology, linguistics, education and psychology. Additional frameworks are forthcoming, most recently the "Possibilities Framework",^[9] which builds off of deductive reasoning research started by Wason and Philip Johnson-Laird.
Problem solving: It plays an important role in the processes that advance physics research, featured in high numbers of exercises in conventional textbooks. Most research in this area rests on examining the difference between novice and expert problem solvers (freshmen and sophomores, and graduate-level and postdoctorate students, respectively). Approaches in researching problem solving have been a focus for the University of Minnesota's PER group. Recently, a paper was published in PRL Special Section: PER that identified over 30 behaviors, attitudes, and skills that are used in the solving of a typical physics problem. Greater resolution and specific attention to the details are used in the field of problem solving.
Attitudes: The University of Colorado developed an instrument that reveals student attitudes and expectations about physics as a subject and as a class. Student attitudes are often found to decline after traditional instruction, but recent work by Redish and Hammer show that this can be reversed and positive attitudinal gains can be seen if attention is paid to "explicate the epistemological elements of the implicit curriculum."^[10]
Social aspects: Research has been conducted into gender, race, and other socioeconomic issues that can influence learning in physics and other fields. Other research has investigated the impacts on learning physics of body language, group dynamics, and classroom setup.
Technology: Student response systems (clickers) are based on Eric Mazur's work in Peer Instruction. Research in PER examines the influence, applications of, and possibilities for technology in the classroom.
Instructional interventions: PER's curriculum design is based on more than two decades of research in physics education. Notable textbooks include Tutorials in Physics, Physics by Inquiry, Investigative Science Learning Environment, and Paradigms in Physics, as well as many new textbooks in introductory and junior level coursework. The Kansas State University Physics Education Research Group has developed a program, Visual Quantum Mechanics (VQM), to teach quantum mechanics to high school and college students who do not have advanced backgrounds in physics or math.
Instructional materials: For undergraduates, publishers now emphasize a PER basis for their physics textbooks as a major selling point. One of the earliest comprehensive physics textbooks to incorporate PER findings was written by Serway and Beichner. Apart from textbooks, instructional material for pre-college physics students now include PhET (Physics Education Technology) simulations. This is made possible through advances in personal computer hardware, platform-independent software such as Adobe Flash Player and Java, and more recently HTML5,^[11] CSS3 and JavaScript.^[12] According to Wieman,^[13] PhET simulations offer a direct and powerful tool for probing student thinking and learning.

Journal association

Physics education research papers in the United States are primarily issued among four publishing venues.^[14] Papers submitted to the American Journal of Physics: Physics Education Research Section (PERS) are mostly to consumers of physics education research. The Journal of the Learning Sciences (JLS) publishes papers that regard real-life or non-laboratory environments, often in the context of technology, and are about learning, not teaching. Meanwhile, papers at Physical Review Special Topics: Physics Education Research (PRST:PER) are aimed at those for whom research is conducted on PER rather than to consumers. The audience for Physics Education Research Conference Proceedings (PERC) is designed for a mix of consumers and researchers. The latter provides a snapshot of the field and as such is open to preliminary results and research in progress, as well as papers that would simply be thought-provoking to the PER community. Other journals include Physics Education (UK), the European Journal of Physics (UK), and The Physics Teacher . Leon Hsu and others published an article about publishing and refereeing papers in physics education research in 2007.^[14]

Related Research Articles

A teaching method is a set of principles and methods used by teachers to enable student learning. These strategies are determined partly by the subject matter to be taught, partly by the relative expertise of the learners, and partly by constraints caused by the learning environment. For a particular teaching method to be appropriate and efficient it has to take into account the learner, the nature of the subject matter, and the type of learning it is supposed to bring about.

Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process, some social science, and some teaching pedagogy. The standards for science education provide expectations for the development of understanding for students through the entire course of their K-12 education and beyond. The traditional subjects included in the standards are physical, life, earth, space, and human sciences.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem found in trigger material. The PBL process does not focus on problem solving with a defined solution, but it allows for the development of other desirable skills and attributes. This includes knowledge acquisition, enhanced group collaboration and communication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Active learning</span> Educational technique

Active learning is "a method of learning in which students are actively or experientially involved in the learning process and where there are different levels of active learning, depending on student involvement." Bonwell & Eison (1991) states that "students participate [in active learning] when they are doing something besides passively listening." According to Hanson and Moser (2003) using active teaching techniques in the classroom can create better academic outcomes for students. Scheyvens, Griffin, Jocoy, Liu, & Bradford (2008) further noted that "by utilizing learning strategies that can include small-group work, role-play and simulations, data collection and analysis, active learning is purported to increase student interest and motivation and to build students ‘critical thinking, problem-solving and social skills". In a report from the Association for the Study of Higher Education, authors discuss a variety of methodologies for promoting active learning. They cite literature that indicates students must do more than just listen in order to learn. They must read, write, discuss, and be engaged in solving problems. This process relates to the three learning domains referred to as knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA). This taxonomy of learning behaviors can be thought of as "the goals of the learning process." In particular, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Blended learning or hybrid learning, also known as technology-mediated instruction, web-enhanced instruction, or mixed-mode instruction, is an approach to education that combines online educational materials and opportunities for interaction online with physical place-based classroom methods.

David Orlin Hestenes is a theoretical physicist and science educator. He is best known as chief architect of geometric algebra as a unified language for mathematics and physics, and as founder of Modelling Instruction, a research-based program to reform K–12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.

A concept inventory is a criterion-referenced test designed to help determine whether a student has an accurate working knowledge of a specific set of concepts. Historically, concept inventories have been in the form of multiple-choice tests in order to aid interpretability and facilitate administration in large classes. Unlike a typical, teacher-authored multiple-choice test, questions and response choices on concept inventories are the subject of extensive research. The aims of the research include ascertaining (a) the range of what individuals think a particular question is asking and (b) the most common responses to the questions. Concept inventories are evaluated to ensure test reliability and validity. In its final form, each question includes one correct answer and several distractors.

Physics education or physics teaching refers to the education methods currently used to teach physics. The occupation is called physics educator or physics teacher. Physics education research refers to an area of pedagogical research that seeks to improve those methods. Historically, physics has been taught at the high school and college level primarily by the lecture method together with laboratory exercises aimed at verifying concepts taught in the lectures. These concepts are better understood when lectures are accompanied with demonstration, hand-on experiments, and questions that require students to ponder what will happen in an experiment and why. Students who participate in active learning for example with hands-on experiments learn through self-discovery. By trial and error they learn to change their preconceptions about phenomena in physics and discover the underlying concepts. Physics education is part of the broader area of science education.

Robert Karplus was a theoretical physicist and leader in the field of science education.

The Mechanical Universe...And Beyond is a 52-part telecourse, filmed at the California Institute of Technology, that introduces university level physics, covering topics from Copernicus to quantum mechanics. The 1985-86 series was produced by Caltech and INTELECOM, a nonprofit consortium of California community colleges now known as Intelecom Learning, with financial support from Annenberg/CPB. The series, which aired on PBS affiliate stations before being distributed on LaserDisc and eventually YouTube, is known for its use of computer animation.

Scientific misconceptions are commonly held beliefs about science that have no basis in actual scientific fact. Scientific misconceptions can also refer to preconceived notions based on religious and/or cultural influences. Many scientific misconceptions occur because of faulty teaching styles and the sometimes distancing nature of true scientific texts. Because students' prior knowledge and misconceptions are important factors for learning science, science teachers should be able to identify and address these conceptions.

Reform mathematics is an approach to mathematics education, particularly in North America. It is based on principles explained in 1989 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). The NCTM document Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (CESSM) set forth a vision for K–12 mathematics education in the United States and Canada. The CESSM recommendations were adopted by many local- and federal-level education agencies during the 1990s. In 2000, the NCTM revised its CESSM with the publication of Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM). Like those in the first publication, the updated recommendations became the basis for many states' mathematics standards, and the method in textbooks developed by many federally-funded projects. The CESSM de-emphasised manual arithmetic in favor of students developing their own conceptual thinking and problem solving. The PSSM presents a more balanced view, but still has the same emphases.

Inquiry-based learning is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios. It contrasts with traditional education, which generally relies on the teacher presenting facts and their knowledge about the subject. Inquiry-based learning is often assisted by a facilitator rather than a lecturer. Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning includes problem-based learning, and is generally used in small-scale investigations and projects, as well as research. The inquiry-based instruction is principally very closely related to the development and practice of thinking and problem-solving skills.

<i>Fundamentals of Physics</i> Physics Textbook by Halliday, Resnick, Walker

Fundamentals of Physics is a calculus-based physics textbook by David Halliday, Robert Resnick, and Jearl Walker. The textbook is currently in its 12th edition.

SCALE-UP, Student-Centered Active Learning Environment with Upside-Down Pedagogies, is a classroom specifically created to facilitate active, collaborative learning in a classroom. The spaces are carefully designed to facilitate interactions between teams of students who work on short, interesting tasks revolving around specific content. Some people think the rooms look more like restaurants than classrooms.

Edwin Floriman Taylor is an American physicist known for his contributions to the teaching of physics. Taylor was editor of the American Journal of Physics, and is author of several introductory books to physics. In 1998 he was awarded the Oersted Medal for his contributions to the teaching of physics.

Peer instruction is an evidence-based, interactive teaching method popularized by Harvard Professor Eric Mazur in the early 1990s. Originally used in many schools, including introductory undergraduate physics classes at Harvard University, peer instruction is used in various disciplines and institutions around the globe. It is a student-centered approach that involves flipping the traditional classroom by moving information transfer out and moving information assimilation, or application of learning, into the classroom. There is some research that supports the effectiveness of peer instruction over more traditional teaching methods, such as traditional lecture.

A flipped classroom is an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning. It aims to increase student engagement and learning by having pupils complete readings at home, and work on live problem-solving during class time. This pedagogical style moves activities, including those that may have traditionally been considered homework, into the classroom. With a flipped classroom, students watch online lectures, collaborate in online discussions, or carry out research at home, while actively engaging concepts in the classroom with a mentor's guidance.

Quantum Theory: Concepts and Methods is a 1993 quantum physics textbook by Israeli physicist Asher Peres. Well-regarded among the physics community, it is known for unconventional choices of topics to include.

Quantum mechanics is a difficult subject to teach due to its counterintuitive nature. As the subject is now offered by advanced secondary schools, educators have applied scientific methodology to the process of teaching quantum mechanics, in order to identify common misconceptions and ways of improving students' understanding.

References

↑ Docktor, Jennifer L.; Mestre, José P. (2014-09-16). "Synthesis of discipline-based education research in physics". Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research. 10 (2): 020119. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.020119 .
↑ Council, National Research (2012-05-21). Discipline-Based Education Research: Understanding and Improving Learning in Undergraduate Science and Engineering. doi:10.17226/13362. ISBN 978-0-309-25411-3.
↑ Physics Education Research | Physics Education Group
↑ Fernandez, F.B. (2017). "Action research in the physics classroom: the impact of authentic, inquiry based learning or instruction on the learning of thermal physics". Asia-Pacific Science Education. 3 (1): 1–20. doi: 10.1186/s41029-017-0014-z .
↑ Robert J. Beichner (2009). "An Introduction to Physics Education Research". In Charles R. Henderson and Kathleen A. Harper. Getting Started in PER. Reviews in PER 2.
↑ McDermott (2010). A Personal History of Physics Education Research and the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington. unpublished. pp. 1–81.
↑ "Resources, Framing, and Transfer"
↑ Redish Edward F (2014). "Oersted Lecture 2013: How should we think about how our students think?". American Journal of Physics. 82 (6): 537–551. arXiv: 1308.3911 . Bibcode:2014AmJPh..82..537R. doi:10.1119/1.4874260. S2CID 119231128.
↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2019-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
↑ Redish, Edward F.; Hammer, David (2009-07-01). "Reinventing college physics for biologists: Explicating an epistemological curriculum". American Journal of Physics. 77 (7): 629–642. arXiv: 0807.4436 . Bibcode:2009AmJPh..77..629R. doi:10.1119/1.3119150. ISSN 0002-9505. S2CID 46304837.
↑ "PhET Source Code Instructions".
↑ Seskir, Z.C.; Migdał, P.; Weidner, C.; Anupam, A.; Case, N.; Davis, N.; Decaroli, C.; Ercan, İ; Foti, C.; Gora, P.; Jankiewicz, K.; La Cour, B.R.; Malo, J.Y.; Maniscalco, S.; Naeemi, A.; Nita, L.; Parvin, N.; Scafirimuto, F.; Sherson, J.F.; Surer, E.; Wootton, J.R.; Yeh, L.; Zabello, O.; Chiofalo, M. (2022). "Quantum games and interactive tools for quantum technologies outreach and education". Optical Engineering. 61 (8): 081809-1–081809-38. arXiv: 2202.07756 . doi:10.1117/1.OE.61.8.081809.
↑ Wieman, Carl; Perkins, Katherine; Adams, Wendy (2007-10-28). "Oersted Medal Lecture 2007: Interactive simulations for teaching physics: What works, what doesn't, and why" (PDF). American Journal of Physics. 76 (4 & 5): 393–399. doi:10.1119/1.2815365. S2CID 30005032.
1 2 Leon Hsu et al. (2007). "Publishing and refereeing papers in physics education research". Physics Education Research Conference 951: 3–6.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Docktor, Jennifer L.; Mestre, José P. (2014-09-16). "Synthesis of discipline-based education research in physics". Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research. 10 (2): 020119. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.020119 .

[2] Council, National Research (2012-05-21). Discipline-Based Education Research: Understanding and Improving Learning in Undergraduate Science and Engineering. doi:10.17226/13362. ISBN 978-0-309-25411-3.

[3] Physics Education Research | Physics Education Group

[4] Fernandez, F.B. (2017). "Action research in the physics classroom: the impact of authentic, inquiry based learning or instruction on the learning of thermal physics". Asia-Pacific Science Education. 3 (1): 1–20. doi: 10.1186/s41029-017-0014-z .

[5] Robert J. Beichner (2009). "An Introduction to Physics Education Research". In Charles R. Henderson and Kathleen A. Harper. Getting Started in PER. Reviews in PER 2.

[6] McDermott (2010). A Personal History of Physics Education Research and the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington. unpublished. pp. 1–81.

[7] "Resources, Framing, and Transfer"

[8] Redish Edward F (2014). "Oersted Lecture 2013: How should we think about how our students think?". American Journal of Physics. 82 (6): 537–551. arXiv: 1308.3911 . Bibcode:2014AmJPh..82..537R. doi:10.1119/1.4874260. S2CID 119231128.

[9] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2019-12-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[10] Redish, Edward F.; Hammer, David (2009-07-01). "Reinventing college physics for biologists: Explicating an epistemological curriculum". American Journal of Physics. 77 (7): 629–642. arXiv: 0807.4436 . Bibcode:2009AmJPh..77..629R. doi:10.1119/1.3119150. ISSN 0002-9505. S2CID 46304837.

[11] "PhET Source Code Instructions".

[12] Seskir, Z.C.; Migdał, P.; Weidner, C.; Anupam, A.; Case, N.; Davis, N.; Decaroli, C.; Ercan, İ; Foti, C.; Gora, P.; Jankiewicz, K.; La Cour, B.R.; Malo, J.Y.; Maniscalco, S.; Naeemi, A.; Nita, L.; Parvin, N.; Scafirimuto, F.; Sherson, J.F.; Surer, E.; Wootton, J.R.; Yeh, L.; Zabello, O.; Chiofalo, M. (2022). "Quantum games and interactive tools for quantum technologies outreach and education". Optical Engineering. 61 (8): 081809-1–081809-38. arXiv: 2202.07756 . doi:10.1117/1.OE.61.8.081809.

[13] Wieman, Carl; Perkins, Katherine; Adams, Wendy (2007-10-28). "Oersted Medal Lecture 2007: Interactive simulations for teaching physics: What works, what doesn't, and why" (PDF). American Journal of Physics. 76 (4 & 5): 393–399. doi:10.1119/1.2815365. S2CID 30005032.

[hsu-14] 1 2 Leon Hsu et al. (2007). "Publishing and refereeing papers in physics education research". Physics Education Research Conference 951: 3–6.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]