Based on interviews with quantum industry professionals, this study identifies four key categories of experimental skills needed for bachelor’s-level roles in the Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) workforce.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 020117] Published Wed Aug 12, 2026

Physics students express a strong preference for optional rather than mandatory AI integration, largely because they acutely recognize the technology’s tendency to fail at visual-spatial reasoning and circuit analysis.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 020114] Published Thu Aug 06, 2026

An analysis of Texas A&M’s open-access physics resources found that using supplemental past exams significantly improves student course performance and effectively closes the achievement gap for first-generation students.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 020103] Published Mon Jul 13, 2026

A novel methodology provides a time-resolved account of collaborative modeling by small groups and offers insights for supporting modeling-rich physics learning.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 010141] Published Wed May 13, 2026

Differing perspectives on expectations, motivations, goals, and theoretical commitments yield differently designed lab activities.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 010137] Published Mon Apr 27, 2026

Teachers use AI differently in lesson planning according to their needs and experience teaching physics.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 010136] Published Fri Apr 24, 2026

Interviews with students who report negative experiences with physics classes show that they appreciated peer interactions and class activities, but negative experiences with classes, course structure, and instructors.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 010123] Published Wed Feb 25, 2026

New instrument identifies state and development of mental models around light polarization.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 010118] Published Fri Feb 13, 2026

A large-scale study reveals no significant changes in scores on a diagnostic test of preparation for university physics over a ten-year period.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 010110] Published Wed Jan 28, 2026

Students in E&M who generated simulations with AI had larger learning gains than those working with physical equipment.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 010109] Published Mon Jan 26, 2026

As students move from novice to expert in computation they experience two transitions in expertise.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 010103] Published Tue Jan 20, 2026

An interview study reveals differing perspectives on the current state of quantum computing and future directions.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 22, 010101] Published Mon Jan 05, 2026

An online survey of preparation for writing in physics indicates uneven preparation for disciplinary writing, drawing heavily on prior experience such as K-12 classes.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020146] Published Thu Nov 20, 2025

Features such as color matching, spatial layout, and numbering sequences within written instruction eased cognitive load among students.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020141] Published Wed Nov 05, 2025

In a randomized study of instructional methods for teaching quantum using two state systems those taught using photon polarization and the double-well potential significantly outperformed those following the which-path encoded single-photon approach.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020142] Published Wed Nov 05, 2025

Four forms of representational gesture are commonly used in student discussions of problem solving to capture instantaneity.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020136] Published Mon Oct 27, 2025

The APOS theory (action, process, object, schema) from mathematics education research illuminates the interplay of mathematics and physics in the context of the 2D heat equation.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020132] Published Tue Oct 21, 2025

A national survey characterizes the state of Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) and finds prevalent courses, programs, and opportunities to engage in QISE.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020131] Published Thu Oct 16, 2025

Drawing on interviews with astronomy students the authors establish an astronomy identity framework with six constructs.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020127] Published Tue Sep 16, 2025

A study of the adoption of Research-Based Instructional Strategies offers new insights into the interplay of personal agency, collaborative teaching structures, and systemic influences and suggests that instructional change frameworks should address institutional inertia and structural barriers to reform.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020124] Published Tue Sep 09, 2025

Novice problem solvers are shown to have longer reaction times in problem solving settings, suggesting effortful inhibitory control over misconceptions.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020120] Published Fri Sep 05, 2025

ChatGPT 4o outperformed humans on problem solving on German Physics Olympiad problems.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020115] Published Wed Aug 13, 2025

Evaluating introductory physics student solution checking, the authors find that mostly students do not use evaluation strategies, but when they do, they use three primary strategies.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020114] Published Mon Aug 11, 2025

This updated review of Astronomy Education Research over the last 20 years identifies 7 broad categories, with studies of instruction as the most prominent.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020601] Published Tue Aug 05, 2025

Three case studies of students making homework corrections indicate that students see the benefits, but also struggled to identify their errors.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020113] Published Wed Jul 30, 2025

After implementing nine smartphone based researchers found students to have better affective outcomes and increased agency as compared to those who went through programming tasks.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 020110] Published Tue Jul 22, 2025

A study of three educational activities showed that students saw science shows generated the most interest, but was seen as the least valuable.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 010146] Published Tue May 06, 2025

Students with lower response times on physics adjacent math skills items are likely to get better grades when controlling for accuracy on pre or posttest math skills.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 010144] Published Wed Apr 30, 2025

The article provides evidence-based recommendations in the form of a set of effective design principles that can be used as tools for evaluating and designing digital learning modules.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 010143] Published Mon Apr 28, 2025

Research explores majority group physics instructors’ awareness of Black women’s alienation, its causes, and their approach to addressing bias.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 010142] Published Fri Apr 25, 2025

This study builds on previous research to distinguish between students’ errors caused by conceptual misunderstandings and those driven by intuitive reasoning, using Frederick’s Cognitive Reflection Test to support dual-process theories of student reasoning.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 010141] Published Mon Apr 21, 2025

ChatGPT can approach human-level accuracy in grading physics problems, and can be enhanced with multiple trials and explaining the rubric.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 010126] Published Thu Mar 27, 2025

While there is no difference for easy problem-solving tasks, for more difficult problem-solving tasks, pre-recorded video instruction is significantly less effective than live instruction.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 010117] Published Fri Mar 07, 2025

In an implementation of the Collaborative Learning through Active Sense-Making in Physics (CLASP) course at a different institution preserved prior findings and the results are interpreted through an equity lens.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 010107] Published Thu Jan 23, 2025

Cognitive diagnostic models had high accuracies for classifying students skill levels in four skills: applying vectors, conceptual relationships, algebra, and visualizations.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 21, 010103] Published Tue Jan 21, 2025

Interviews with graduate students selecting research groups indicate both warning and encouraging signals for continued success.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 020119] Published Fri Sep 20, 2024

A qualitative social network analysis of women and/or LGBT+ Ph.D.’s shows how direct support from peers, faculty, and identity-based affinity groups were necessary for minoritized physics students to navigate departmental exclusion.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 020115] Published Thu Sep 12, 2024

Students in on-line introductory physics courses showed patterns of help-seeking and resource-usage patterns which did not influence scores on supervised assessments.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010145] Published Thu May 23, 2024

Graduate students, particularly minoritized students, feel unprepared to choose a research group and can benefit from enhanced support in making this choice.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010136] Published Tue May 07, 2024

A four part method will help draw trustworthy claims from machine coding of qualitative data.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010113] Published Wed Mar 06, 2024

Neurodivergent students experience unnecessary barriers to success in physics from assessment that is not constructed for how neurodivergent physicists perform physics-related tasks.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010111] Published Thu Feb 29, 2024

ChatGPT does well at proposing productive strategies for solving problems on the test of understanding graphs in kinematics, but does poorly at getting correct answers due to limited ability to visually interpret graphs.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010109] Published Fri Feb 23, 2024

A starting point for researchers to learn more about the causal inference methods and analysis techniques that have been developed outside the field of PER.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 19, 020160] Published Mon Nov 20, 2023

ChatGPT can be used to answer concept inventories and subsequently generate humanlike answers.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 19, 020150] Published Wed Oct 25, 2023

The symbolic blending model can be used to analyze students’ mathematical sense-making when constructing equations in upper-division physics.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 19, 020149] Published Tue Oct 24, 2023

Changes to the structure of introductory physics courses can eliminate some demographic grade gaps.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 19, 020126] Published Wed Sep 06, 2023

It takes students longer to extract relevant information from physics question presented using a verbal representation than from isomorphic questions using graphical or pictoral representations.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 19, 020114] Published Fri Aug 18, 2023

It is important for women physics teacher candidates to have the option to participate in physics without needing to adopt physics norms associated with nerdiness.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 19, 010140] Published Tue Jun 13, 2023

A survey of experts to map requirements and forecasts for the future quantum workforce.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 19, 010137] Published Mon Jun 05, 2023

Quantitative evidence is presented that counter the normative cultural ones as to who does physics and why one does physics, helps to support women and minoritized groups in envisioning a future for themselves in physics.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 19, 010126] Published Fri Apr 07, 2023

Single-photon experiments are used to teach quantum phenomena in a wide variety of ways and with a wide variety of learning goals.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 19, 010117] Published Fri Mar 03, 2023

The majority of students enter quantum mechanics expecting the subject to be nonintuitive or less intuitive than other courses.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 19, 010109] Published Tue Feb 21, 2023

It is important for physics instructors to focus on increasing women’s self-efficacy and other motivational beliefs in the introductory course; these can influence students’ persistence and engagement in the course and can also impact later course and career choices.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 020142] Published Mon Dec 05, 2022

Rubric-based admissions processes increase equity in graduate admissions.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 020140] Published Wed Nov 30, 2022

A computation-integrated curriculum for high school physics can make science learning more authentic for students who are familiar with computation, and can generate frustration and an aversion towards physics for students who are not.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 020109] Published Tue Aug 02, 2022

A mixed reality learning environment for experimental problem solving results in large improvements in problem-solving success for both novices and experts.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 023101] Published Thu Jul 21, 2022

Women in introductory physics are less likely than men to think that others perceive them as being a physics person.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 010138] Published Tue May 31, 2022

In introductory physics courses where men outnumber women, mens’ sense of belonging increases while womens’ does not.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 010139] Published Tue May 31, 2022

There are five different mental models that students use to reason about the apparent motion of the Sun and stars.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 010130] Published Wed Apr 20, 2022

Labs focused on skills improve critical thinking skills and experimentation views for all students compared with labs focused on reinforcing lecture concepts.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 010128] Published Mon Apr 11, 2022

LGBT+ members of the physics community who have negative perceptions of workplace climate and who observe exclusionary behavior are more likely to consider leaving the discipline.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 010124] Published Mon Mar 28, 2022

Carefully designed one-minute videos and short text summaries following a lecture can significantly increase students’ understanding of the material and their ability to organize the material into useful mental frameworks.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 010110] Published Fri Jan 28, 2022

The development and validation of techniques to measure cross-disciplinary learning: an example in the context of energy.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 010108] Published Mon Jan 24, 2022

Inequities in student lab group experiences are due to structural aspects of the learning environment; instructors must institute policies and practices to push against gender norms and stereotypes.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 010106] Published Thu Jan 20, 2022

Remote research experience for undergraduates programs should be considered as a means to expand access to research experiences for students.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 18, 010101] Published Tue Jan 04, 2022

Experienced secondary teachers are able to incorporate nature of science content into their quantum physics lessons when provided with appropriate instructional materials.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 020132] Published Tue Nov 02, 2021

The physics inventory of quantitative literacy is a 20-item instrument to assess quantitative reasoning in introductory physics contexts.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 020129] Published Wed Oct 13, 2021

Undergraduate grade point average predicts graduate grades and PhD completion more effectively than GRE scores.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 020115] Published Tue Sep 07, 2021

Physics education researchers developing predictive models using statistical techniques should articulate the data management procedures, the model evaluation methods, and the way results are defined and communicated.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 020104] Published Wed Jul 28, 2021

Current learning environments in introductory calculus-based physics influence all students’ physics-related motivational belief in a negative way and are more detrimental for female students than male students.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 010143] Published Wed Jun 23, 2021

Scoring highly on the physics GRE does not help applicants to graduate school stand out when the applicants are from small or less selective undergraduate schools or have a low undergraduate GPA.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 010144] Published Wed Jun 23, 2021

Introductory physics students learn significantly more when the homework is transformed using the principles of deliberate practice, with no increase in time spent on task.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 010129] Published Fri Apr 23, 2021

Physics instructors should provide students with low prior knowledge homogeneous multiple representations and guide them in exploring the similarities between these representations.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 010125] Published Fri Apr 16, 2021

Eye-tracking data confirm that students tend to divide sequential problems into subtasks and treat simultaneous problems as a single-step task.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 010126] Published Fri Apr 16, 2021

How did college physics students perceive the sudden shift to online learning during COVID-19?

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 010117] Published Thu Mar 11, 2021

Computerized adaptive testing can reduce test time on the Force Concept Inventory by up to 50%

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 010115] Published Tue Mar 09, 2021

Femininity and gender appropriate behaviors in Muslim majority countries may be more congruent with physics identity than in Western countries, thus supporting participation and persistence of women.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 010114] Published Mon Mar 08, 2021

Introductory physics student performance on exams and their final letter grades are, at most, only weakly dependent on gender.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 17, 010106] Published Tue Feb 09, 2021

Basic skills in physics and engineering are valued by the quantum industry just as much as specific knowledge of quantum information science.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 020131] Published Thu Oct 29, 2020

Introductory physics students report using free online resources productively to guide learning efforts, but also acknowledged unproductive uses such as copying solutions.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 020123] Published Wed Oct 14, 2020

Virtual reality-based instruction is not more effective than other media at teaching inherently 3D topics in introductory physics.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 020119] Published Thu Sep 03, 2020

American physics education research relies on research subjects that are not representative of the overall population of physics students.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 020106] Published Mon Jul 27, 2020

Introductory physics students who actively sought out information from multiple peers were less likely to solve well structured problems compared to those who did not seek help; for ill-structured problems, this effect depended on the features of the learning environment.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 010137] Published Thu Jun 11, 2020

In introductory labs without sufficient structure men and women systematically take on different group roles and men behave differently in groups with other men versus when there is at least one woman.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 010129] Published Tue May 26, 2020

Women graduate student study in astronomy emphasizes the importance of multiple life goals in determining a student’s pathway, and potentially suggests that career trajectories for faculty need to be reconsidered to diversify the field.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 010119] Published Tue Apr 21, 2020

Students enter introductory physics labs expecting to experimentally confirm models introduced in lecture.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 010113] Published Wed Mar 25, 2020

Students improve their ability to engage in scientific practice when exposed to introductory physics laboratories that encourage agency.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 010109] Published Mon Feb 10, 2020

Many students regard discrete spectra as a type of diffraction pattern, often conflating the minima and maxima for diffraction with the dark regions and bright lines in a discrete spectrum.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 16, 010102] Published Wed Jan 08, 2020

Development of a framework to guide research and teaching of undergraduate physics that incorporates computation.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 020152] Published Fri Dec 27, 2019

Many undergraduate quantum mechanics students give intuitively appealing, but incorrect responses to quantum problems even though they are familiar with the formalism for determining quantum probabilities and are proficient with complex numbers.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 020139] Published Thu Oct 31, 2019

In certain contexts, student ideas about mechanical wave propagation that have formerly been reported as difficulties can be viewed as resources that are consistent with formal physics.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 020127] Published Thu Sep 19, 2019

A calculus-based introductory physics course with an energy-first curriculum improves student learning and has lasting benefits for students entering with lower math ability.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 020126] Published Fri Sep 13, 2019

The critical physics identity framework is applied to deconstruct the factors that influence physics identity for a sample of undergraduate, graduate, and professional black physicists.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 020115] Published Fri Aug 09, 2019

The level and pace of introductory physics is often targeted towards the better prepared students; adjusting the course level to better match the preparation of less prepared students might improve their performance while having minimal impact on the learning of the best prepared.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 020114] Published Thu Jul 18, 2019

The physics lab inventory of critical thinking is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring student critical thinking in the context of physics experimentation.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 010135] Published Fri May 31, 2019

Students’ metacognitive thinking can be improved using appropriate procedures applied to homework: four step problem-solving strategy, discussion in class, and grading based on reflection and effort.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 010136] Published Fri May 31, 2019

Quantum physics is taught in upper secondary schools in many countries; there are opportunities to improve on the common core curriculum.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 010130] Published Wed May 22, 2019

Approximately three quarters of undergraduate women in physics report experiencing some type of sexual harassment.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 010121] Published Mon Apr 22, 2019

Better measurement equipment that provide more decimal places in the measurement results can lead some students to reject a correct hypothesis.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 15, 010103] Published Mon Jan 07, 2019

Learning physics helps students develop the ability to quantitatively express relationships between quantities that transfers to other contexts.

[Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 14, 020109] Published Tue Sep 18, 2018