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EDITORIALS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Editorial: Discontinuation of short papers in PRPER

Charles Henderson

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010001 (2024) - Published 16 January, 2024

Editorial: Coauthor! Coauthor!

Randall D. Kamien and Daniel Ucko

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010002 (2024) - Published 21 May, 2024

HIGHLIGHTED ARTICLES

Physics Ph.D. student perspectives on the importance and difficulty of finding a research group

Mike Verostek, Casey W. Miller, and Benjamin M. Zwickl

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010136 (2024) - Published 7 May, 2024

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

Diverging nonlocal fields: Operationalizing critical disability physics identity with neurodivergent physicists outside academia

Liam G. McDermott, Nazeer A. Mosley, and Geraldine L. Cochran

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010111 (2024) - Published 29 February, 2024

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

Performance of ChatGPT on the test of understanding graphs in kinematics

Giulia Polverini and Bor Gregorcic

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010109 (2024) - Published 23 February, 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.

Method to assess the trustworthiness of machine coding at scale

Rebeckah K. Fussell, Emily M. Stump, and N. G. Holmes

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010113 (2024) - Published 6 March, 2024

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

Cheat sites and artificial intelligence usage in online introductory physics courses: What is the extent and what effect does it have on assessments?

Gerd Kortemeyer and Wolfgang Bauer

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010145 (2024) - Published 23 May, 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.

ARTICLES

Statistically equivalent models with different causal structures: An example from physics identity

Yangqiuting Li and Chandralekha Singh

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010101 (2024) - Published 16 January, 2024

Good model fit alone is not sufficient to verify the causal structure of a statistical models; additional evidence is required.

Gender equity in physics labs

Danny Doucette and Chandralekha Singh

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010102 (2024) - Published 30 January, 2024

Indicators and causes of gender inequities within educational physics labs and how to reduce them.

Relationship between semiotic representations and student performance in the context of refraction

Cedric Linder, Jesper Bruun, Arvid Pohl, and Burkhard Priemer

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010103 (2024) - Published 5 February, 2024

Students develop representational competency synergistically with the development of ways to communicate about these representations.

Applying module analysis to the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment

Christopher Wheatley, James Wells, and John Stewart

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010104 (2024) - Published 6 February, 2024

Modified module analysis revealed communities of answers to the Brief Electricity and Magnetism Assessment based on incorrect answers and the structure of the instrument itself.

Exploring student reasoning in statistical mechanics: Identifying challenges in problem-solving groups

Ebba Koerfer and Bor Gregorcic

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010105 (2024) - Published 12 February, 2024

The strong reliance on idealized toy models to illustrate concepts in statistical mechanics may not be sufficient to support high quality student learning.

Using continua to analyze qualitative data investigating epistemic beliefs about physics knowledge: Visualizing beliefs

Ellen Watson and Gregory Thomas

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010106 (2024) - Published 15 February, 2024

Novel means of analyzing interview data to construct profiles to describe epistemic beliefs on physics knowledge.

Designing e-learning courses for classroom and distance learning in physics: The role of learning tasks

Daniel Laumann, Julian Alexander Fischer, Tatjana K. Stürmer-Steinmann, Julia Welberg, Susanne Weßnigk, and Knut Neumann

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010107 (2024) - Published 16 February, 2024

Open-ended tasks, while useful for in-person physics courses, should be used less frequently in completely online courses.

Open-inquiry opens doors to intriguing optics experiments at home: A case study

Paul R. DeStefano and Ralf Widenhorn

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010108 (2024) - Published 20 February, 2024

Investigating an optical phenomenon during pandemic remote learning supports experimental design and modeling skills.

Performance of ChatGPT on the test of understanding graphs in kinematics

Giulia Polverini and Bor Gregorcic

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010109 (2024) - Published 23 February, 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.

Investigating students’ self-identified and reflected appraisal of femininity, masculinity, and androgyny in introductory physics courses

Yangqiuting Li and Eric Burkholder

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010110 (2024) - Published 27 February, 2024

Using gradational measures of femininity, masculinity, and androgeny one finds that physics students perceptions differ from binary gender of men and women.

Diverging nonlocal fields: Operationalizing critical disability physics identity with neurodivergent physicists outside academia

Liam G. McDermott, Nazeer A. Mosley, and Geraldine L. Cochran

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010111 (2024) - Published 29 February, 2024

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

Analysis of visual-based physics questions of the senior high school entrance examination in China

Chengran Wang and Bing Wei

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010112 (2024) - Published 5 March, 2024

The senior high school entrance examination can be improved by including more items focused on assessing higher-order visual cognitive skills such as evaluating and creating visual representations.

Method to assess the trustworthiness of machine coding at scale

Rebeckah K. Fussell, Emily M. Stump, and N. G. Holmes

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010113 (2024) - Published 6 March, 2024

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

Role of mentorship, career conceptualization, and leadership in developing women’s physics identity and belonging

Jessica L. Rosenberg, Nancy Holincheck, Kathryn Fernández, Benjamin W. Dreyfus, Fardousa Wardere, Stephanie Stehle, and Tiffany N. Butler

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010114 (2024) - Published 11 March, 2024

Formal leadership experiences help women in physics feel more confident, contributing to their recognition of themselves as physics people.

Investigating introductory and advanced students’ difficulties with change in internal energy, work, and heat transfer using a validated instrument

Mary Jane Brundage, David E. Meltzer, and Chandralekha Singh

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010115 (2024) - Published 12 March, 2024

Even upper-level physics students struggle with basic thermodynamics concepts related to internal energy, work, and heat transfer.

Evaluating IBM’s Watson natural language processing artificial intelligence as a short-answer categorization tool for physics education research

Jennifer Campbell, Katie Ansell, and Tim Stelzer

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010116 (2024) - Published 22 March, 2024

Artificial intelligence tools are not currently suitable for assessing individual student work, but can be used to summarize the level of a class’ understanding for the purpose of adjusting instruction.

Redesigning a first year physics lab course on the basis of the procedural and conceptual knowledge in science model

C. F. J. Pols and P. J. J. M. Dekkers

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010117 (2024) - Published 22 March, 2024

The procedural and conceptual knowledge science model guides curriculum design and analysis of student engagement and understanding.

Changing person-environment fit among underrepresented undergraduate physics students: Successes from a small department

Ann Y. Kim, Vina Ton, and Daniel Vega

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010118 (2024) - Published 29 March, 2024

There are concrete things that faculty can do to create a welcoming and supportive environment within their physics department.

Physics instructors’ knowledge and use of active learning has increased over the last decade but most still lecture too much

Melissa Dancy, Charles Henderson, Naneh Apkarian, Estrella Johnson, Marilyne Stains, Jeffrey R. Raker, and Alexandra Lau

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010119 (2024) - Published 2 April, 2024

A survey of physics instructors shows that self-reported knowledge and use of research-based instructional strategies has increased, but strategy use is centered on pedagogies designed to help a lecture-based classroom.

How to help students learn: An investigation of how in- and pre-service physics teachers respond to students’ explanations

Danijela Dodlek, Gorazd Planinsic, and Eugenia Etkina

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010120 (2024) - Published 5 April, 2024

Physics teachers are adept at identifying student reasoning in explanations, but in responding they primarily focus on correcting reasoning rather than building on existing student understanding.

Group dynamics in inquiry-based labs: Gender inequities and the efficacy of partner agreements

Matthew Dew, Emma Hunt, Viranga Perera, Jonathan Perry, Gregorio Ponti, and Andrew Loveridge

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010121 (2024) - Published 5 April, 2024

An examination of gender equity in lab roles when using lab partner agreements.

Testing quantum reasoning: Developing, validating, and application of a questionnaire

Moritz Waitzmann, Ruediger Scholz, and Susanne Wessnigk

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010122 (2024) - Published 5 April, 2024

A validated inventory to test quantum reasoning relative to probability, superposition, and interference at the secondary school level.

Beyond normalized gain: Improved comparison of physics educational outcomes

Elaine Christman, Paul Miller, and John Stewart

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010123 (2024) - Published 9 April, 2024

Normalized gain should not be used to compare conceptual inventory outcomes for institutions with different student populations.

Substance-based and sequential reasoning about current: An example from a bulb-ranking task using a resources theoretical lens

Lauren C. Bauman, Trà Huỳnh, and Amy D. Robertson

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010124 (2024) - Published 12 April, 2024

Physics students can use substance-based reasoning about current in simple circuits in ways that can provide a productive starting place for instruction on circuits.

Motivation and needs of informal physics practitioners

Shams El-Adawy, Alexandra C. Lau, Eleanor C. Sayre, and Claudia Fracchiolla

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010125 (2024) - Published 11 April, 2024

The motivations and professional development needs of physicists who engage with the public, capturing the findings that can used as the basis for meaningful support of practitioners of informal physics.

Validation of two test anxiety scales for physics undergraduate courses through confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis

Agostino Cioffi, Silvia Galano, Raffaella Passeggia, and Italo Testa

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010126 (2024) - Published 11 April, 2024

This article presents two versions of a validated scale to measure physics test anxiety.

Who and what gets recognized in peer recognition

Meagan Sundstrom, L. N. Simpfendoerfer, Annie Tan, Ashley B. Heim, and N. G. Holmes

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010127 (2024) - Published 15 April, 2024

There is a difference in the nature of the gender bias in student nominations of strong physics peers between lecture- and lab-based courses.

Analyzing interviews on computational thinking for introductory physics students: Toward a generalized assessment

Justin Gambrell and Eric Brewe

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010128 (2024) - Published 26 April, 2024

According to academic and industrial physicists, learning goals do not differ much between an introductory and a computationally-integrated introductory physics class.

How to evaluate students’ decisions in a data comparison problem: Correct decision for the wrong reasons?

Karel Kok, Sophia Chroszczinsky, and Burkhard Priemer

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010129 (2024) - Published 26 April, 2024

Students give correct answers for the wrong reasons in multiple-choice problems when comparing datasets.

Metacognition and epistemic cognition in physics are related to physics identity through the mediation of physics self-efficacy

Yaren Ulu and Sevda Yerdelen-Damar

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010130 (2024) - Published 26 April, 2024

Educational efforts that focus on reducing the gender gap in physics self-efficacy may result in reductions of the gender gap in physics identity, recognition, and interest.

Disparities in access to U.S. quantum information education

Josephine C. Meyer, Gina Passante, and Bethany Wilcox

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010131 (2024) - Published 2 May, 2024

Quantum information science education programs are less common in rural states and at institutions serving higher populations of low-income students, risking the exclusion of rural and low income populations from quantum careers.

Recognizing dominant cultures around assessment and educational change in physics programs

Diana Sachmpazidi, Chandra Turpen, Jayna Petrella, Robert P. Dalka, and Fatima N. Abdurrahman

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010132 (2024) - Published 3 May, 2024

Departments tend to take a rushed and ad hoc approach to departmental change and tend to ignore formal evidence.

Investigating peer recognition across an introductory physics sequence: Do first impressions last?

Meagan Sundstrom and Logan Kageorge

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010133 (2024) - Published 3 May, 2024

A longitudinal study using social network analysis reveals that patterns of peer recognition change over time, and that peer recognition is related to both student outspokenness and academic performance.

Enhancing peer instruction in physics: Understanding cognitive processes and refining rules

Vegard Gjerde and Sivert Hagane

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010134 (2024) - Published 3 May, 2024

Analysis of student discussions in Peer Instruction indicate students engage in decoding of problem statements, explanations with examples, and explanations with models.

Examining the mismatch between the intended astronomy curriculum content, astronomical literacy, and the astronomical universe

Saeed Salimpour, Michael Fitzgerald, and Robert Hollow

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010135 (2024) - Published 6 May, 2024

The K-12 astronomy curriculum in multiple countries is significantly disjointed, thus missing opportunities to engage students in deeper, more connected learning.

Physics Ph.D. student perspectives on the importance and difficulty of finding a research group

Mike Verostek, Casey W. Miller, and Benjamin M. Zwickl

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010136 (2024) - Published 7 May, 2024

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

Self-efficacy changes and gender effects on self-efficacy in a large-scale robotic telescope focused curriculum

Rachel Freed, David McKinnon, Saeed Salimpour, Michael Fitzgerald, Dan Reichart, and Christina Norris

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010137 (2024) - Published 8 May, 2024

Introductory astronomy courses for nonmajors that include remote access to robotic telescopes can increase self-efficacy and reduce the gender gap.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics undergraduates’ knowledge and interest in quantum careers: Barriers and opportunities to building a diverse quantum workforce

Jessica L. Rosenberg, Nancy Holincheck, and Michele Colandene

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010138 (2024) - Published 8 May, 2024

It is important to develop information about and pathways into quantum careers that are accessible to undergraduate physics majors.

Investigating faculty perspectives on written qualifying exams in physics

Shiva Basir and Eric Burkholder

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010139 (2024) - Published 10 May, 2024

Faculty in one department agree that Ph.D. qualifying exams are both necessary and simultaneously doubt whether they predict success in research.

Prevalence of a growth mindset among introductory astronomy students

Moire K. M. Prescott, Laura Madson, Sandra M. Way, and Kelly N. Sanderson

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010140 (2024) - Published 10 May, 2024

Standard mindset surveys are not able to predict how an undergraduate student will actually behave when faced with the challenges of learning something new.

Investigating students’ insight after attending a planetarium presentation about the apparent motion of the Sun and stars

Hans Bekaert, Mieke De Cock, Wim Van Dooren, and Hans Van Winckel

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010141 (2024) - Published 13 May, 2024

Regular instruction is not sufficient to help secondary students develop a good understanding of the apparent motion of the Sun and stars.

Implementation of the photovoice methodology in a project-based upper-division physics course

Kristin A. Oliver, Victoria Borish, Bethany R. Wilcox, and H. J. Lewandowski

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010142 (2024) - Published 16 May, 2024

Photovoice methodology can provide insights into student experiences and perspectives that may not be captured through traditional reflection questions.

Learning difficulties among students when applying Ampére-Maxwell’s law and its implications for teaching

Álvaro Suárez, Arturo C. Marti, Kristina Zuza, and Jenaro Guisasola

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010143 (2024) - Published 16 May, 2024

Introductory physics students do not develop a robust understanding of Ampere-Maxwell’s law through typical physics instruction.

Importance of undergraduate institution prestige in physics faculty hiring networks

Daniel Z. Grunspan, Regis Komperda, Erika G. Offerdahl, Anna E. Abraham, Sara Etebari, Samantha A. Maas, Julie A. Roberts, Suhail Ghafoor, and Sara E. Brownell

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010144 (2024) - Published 20 May, 2024

A small fraction of institutions are responsible for the undergraduate education of a disproportionate number of U.S. physics faculty.

Cheat sites and artificial intelligence usage in online introductory physics courses: What is the extent and what effect does it have on assessments?

Gerd Kortemeyer and Wolfgang Bauer

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010145 (2024) - Published 23 May, 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.

Modeling novel physics in virtual reality labs: An affective analysis of student learning

Jared P. Canright and Suzanne White Brahmia

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010146 (2024) - Published 28 May, 2024

Examining student attitudes about virtual reality experiments that involve modeling the behavior of fictitious exotic matter.

Utilizing network analysis to explore student qualitative inferential reasoning chains

J. Caleb Speirs, MacKenzie R. Stetzer, and Beth A. Lindsey

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010147 (2024) - Published 29 May, 2024

Network analysis metrics are both interpretable and valuable when applied to student reasoning data generated from reasoning-related tasks.

Assessment of preservice physics teachers’ knowledge of student understanding of force and motion

Lan Yang, Leheng Huang, Xianqiu Wu, Jianwen Xiong, Lei Bao, and Yang Xiao

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010148 (2024) - Published 31 May, 2024

The three-tier instrument design uses questions from the Force Concept Inventory to assess teachers’ content knowledge and their knowledge of likely student misconceptions.

Exploring techniques to improve machine learning’s identification of at-risk students in physics classes

John Pace, John Hansen, and John Stewart

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010149 (2024) - Published 31 May, 2024

Machine learning approaches can identify students at risk of failing introductory physics courses with greater than 80% accuracy, and simple classifiers can approach this level of accuracy.

Vector representations and unit vector representations of fields: Problems of understanding and possible teaching strategies

Christoph Hoyer and Raimund Girwidz

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010150 (2024) - Published 5 June, 2024

Varying representations of vector fields indicate that drawing and interpreting vector representations are different skills that should be practiced.

Sentiment and thematic analysis of faculty responses: Transition to online learning

Colin Green, Eric Brewe, Jillian Mellen, Adrienne Traxler, and Sarah Scanlin

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010151 (2024) - Published 12 June, 2024

Faculty responses to forced online teaching during COVID-19: Insights from sentiment and thematic analysis.

Exploring generative AI assisted feedback writing for students’ written responses to a physics conceptual question with prompt engineering and few-shot learning

Tong Wan and Zhongzhou Chen

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010152 (2024) - Published 13 June, 2024

AI generated feedback to students’ responses to conceptual questions needed minor revision or no revision in 70% of cases.

Student understanding of eigenvalue equations in quantum mechanics: Symbolic blending and sensemaking analysis

A. R. Piña, Zeynep Topdemir, and John R. Thompson

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010153 (2024) - Published 18 June, 2024

Students engage in mathematical sensemaking in the transition from spins to positions in a spins-first undergraduate quantum mechanics course.

Do students think that objects have a true definite position?

Emily M. Stump, Mark Hughes, N. G. Holmes, and Gina Passante

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010154 (2024) - Published 21 June, 2024

Physics students and physics experts vary in their beliefs about the existence of a true definite position, and invoke concepts related to quantum mechanics and the experimental process to explain their beliefs.

Energy as a source of preservice teachers’ conceptions about radioactivity

Axel-Thilo Prokop and Ronny Nawrodt

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010155 (2024) - Published 24 June, 2024

Preservice physics teachers exhibit incorrect conceptions about radioactivity that are similar to those held by secondary students.

Effect of an inquiry-based teaching sequence on secondary school students’ understanding of wave optics

Maja Planinic, Katarina Jelicic, Karolina Matejak Cvenic, Ana Susac, and Lana Ivanjek

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010156 (2024) - Published 24 June, 2024

Contrary to physics teacher concerns, students in this study did not resist inquiry-based teaching methods.

Using expectancy-value theory to understand the teaching motivations of women physics lecturers

Jessie Durk, Amy Smith, Bilgesu Aydın, Adèle Julia, and Isabel M. Rabey

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010157 (2024) - Published 28 June, 2024

Systemic changes are needed to allow women in academia to thrive as both teachers and researchers.

REVIEW ARTICLES

Exploring gender differences in the Force Concept Inventory using a random effects meta-analysis of international studies

Purwoko Haryadi Santoso, Bayu Setiaji, Wahyudi, Johan Syahbrudin, Syamsul Bahri, Fathurrahman, A. Suci Rizky Ananda, and Yusuf Sodhiqin

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010601 (2024) - Published 10 April, 2024

Mean Force Concept Inventory scores are higher for male students than female students in both North American and non North American studies.

COMMENTS

Comment on “Examining the effect of counternarratives about physics on women’s physics career intentions”

M. B. Weissman and J. M. Robins

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 018001 (2024) - Published 22 March, 2024

Reply to “Comment on ‘Examining the effect of counternarratives about physics on women’s physics career intentions’ ”

Geoff Potvin, Zahra Hazari, Raina Khatri, Hemeng Cheng, T. Blake Head, Robynne M. Lock, Anne F. Kornahrens, Kathryne Sparks Woodle, Rebecca E. Vieyra, Beth A. Cunningham, Laird Kramer, and Theodore Hodapp

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 018002 (2024) - Published 22 March, 2024

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