Physics Education
Developing students' ability to troubleshoot is an important learning outcome for many undergraduate physics lab courses, especially electronics courses. In other work, metacognition has been identified as an important feature of…
As a result of the deep modifications of the French physics and chemistry curricula in upper secondary school during these last three years, the physics department of the Universit\'e Paris Diderot (France) wished to develop a renovation…
The authors use an action research (AR) approach in a collegiate studio physics class to investigate the power of partnerships via conferences as they relate to issues of establishing a student/mentor rapport, empowering students to reduce…
We describe a procedure in which elementary education students fabricate 3-cell, $\approx5 ~\mathrm{Watt}$, $1.6~\mathrm{V}$ solar panels. The panels are manufactured at a cost of about $\$6$ each. The paper also describes a series of…
We investigate students' sense of ownership of multiweek final projects in an upper-division optics lab course. Using a multiple case study approach, we describe three student projects in detail. Within-case analyses focused on identifying…
As "Stern-Gerlach first" becomes the new paradigm within the undergraduate quantum mechanics curriculum, we show how one can extend the treatment found in conventional textbooks to cover some of the exciting new developments within the…
We describe a new style of MOOC designed to engage students with an immersive multimedia environment including text, images, video lectures, computer-based simulations, animations, and tutorials. Quantum Mechanics for Everyone is currently…
There is an increasing recognition regarding of the importance of introducing modern Einsteinian concepts early in science education. This study investigates the efficacy of an innovative educational programme "Einstein-First", which…
We describe a study on the conceptual difficulties faced by college students in understanding hydrodynamics of ideal fluids. This study was based on responses obtained in hundreds of written exams and oral interviews, which were held with…
The spatial dependence of magnetic fields in simple configurations is an usual topic in introductory electromagnetism lessons, both in high school and in university courses. In typical experiments, magnetic fields are obtained taking…
This paper describes an undergraduate-level physics project that incorporates various aspects of machine- and electronics-shop technical development. The desktop muon detector is a self-contained apparatus that employs plastic scintillator…
Students' learning orientation, as applied towards learning problem solving, may be differentiated into learning a problem solving framework for its own sake, learning for the sake of doing well in the course, and non-goal-related…
Nowadays the Science progress depends on the numerical calculus, due to the possibility of obtention of solutions using simulations which would be impracticable, or even impossible, to be analitically obtained. In this aspect, it becomes…
Infographics are a form of data visualization combining data, information, and statistics. Over the last ten years, infographics have become a popular method for displaying concise information, where infographics are a useful tool for…
Over the last few decades, the nature of scientific research has changed in response to external influences. Firstly, powerful networked computers have become a standard tool. Secondly, society presses ever harder for research to deliver…
Quantum entanglement occurs not just in discrete systems such as spins, but also in the spatial wave functions of systems with more than one degree of freedom. It is easy to introduce students to entangled wave functions at an early stage,…
There is a new urgency for wider segments of the non-expert population to join in shaping the future direction of our technological society. Certain decisions being made now in the development of energy resources will profoundly affect the…
High-stakes assessments, such the Graduate Records Examination, have transitioned from paper to computer administration. Low-stakes Research-Based Assessments (RBAs), such as the Force Concept Inventory, have only recently begun this…
Research-based assessments (RBAs), such as the Force Concept Inventory, have played central roles in many course transformations from traditional lecture-based instruction to research-based teaching methods. In order to support instructors…
This study investigates differences in student participation rates between in-class and online administrations of research-based assessments. A sample of 1,310 students from 25 sections of 3 different introductory physics courses over two…