Physics research

Physics Education Research Section

Although there has been much research on how to help students learn physics, students still come away without a deep understanding of how physics has transformed the world around them and almost all leave with decreased expectations and a more negative attitude toward physics. We discuss an experiment to address this problem: a course weblog which discusses real-world applications of physics an...

Physics Education Research Section

We study student understanding of the direction of the magnetic force experienced by a charged particle moving through a homogeneous magnetic field in both the magnetic pole and field line representations of the magnetic field. In five studies, we administer a series of simple questions in either written or interview format. Our results indicate that although students begin at the same low leve...

Physics Education Research Section

We discuss our implementation of targeted pre-reading assignments with an associated online quiz in two science classes, one physics and one biology. Our goal was to create a pre-class assignment that helped students recognize the benefits of reading before class. Students were asked to take part in a survey about how and why they completed the pre-reading assignments. We found that 80% of stud...

Interdisciplinary Research in Physics

Physics Education Research Section

Physics education researchers have compiled substantial evidence that student course outcomes can be improved if physics instructors incorporate research-based instructional strategies into their teaching. Some instructors find this evidence convincing and attempt to change their instruction. Some of these instructors are successful and some are not. This paper presents the results of a case st...