The Focused Collection on AI in PER includes publications across a spectrum of topics.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

This study reveals that student reasoning about half-life is context-sensitive and nonrobust, aligning with a knowledge-in-pieces model.

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

A bibliometric analysis of publications in PRPER in its first 20 years reveal growth and enduring contributions of foundational articles.

A new concept inventory assesses student understanding of electric circuits.

Learning environments that are perceived as positive diminish the effect of burnout on motivation among Chinese university students.

A survey assesses departmental culture around changing programs to improve student experience or outcomes.

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

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

Using a problem-solving rubric along with a conceptual test diagnoses learning needs among secondary physics students.

Think aloud interviews with K-8 preservice teachers indicate that they use energy concepts productively across scientific disciplines.

Analysis of classroom video reveals a systematic association between the modeling skills teachers aimed to develop (i.e., Mathematization, Manipulation, Interpretation, Validation) and corresponding student difficulties in coordinating mathematical reasoning and physical sense-making.

Students sent prompts aligned with a self-regulated learning framework performed better on measures of content proficiency but not measures of metacognitive awareness or self-efficacy.

A mixed method study of student perceptions of grades attends to the meaning of grades as well as how grades effect students.

Generative AI models can be used to provide feedback on instructional designs and the feedback is comparable to human generated feedback.

Case study of an upper division student solving problems reveals that the student did not have global coherence in approach, but sought local coherence.

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

Preservice physics teachers employ a variety of metacognitive strategies when posing problems.

Departmental Action Teams were capable of supporting organizational learning and sustained departmental change.

In an eye-tracking study focused on graphical representations, novices exhibited signs consistent with increased cognitive load (longer overall processing times, more scattered scan paths, and frequent signs of disorientation) relative to experts; AI models demonstrated limited abilities.

Conceptual frameworks, like the one developed for the Ideal Gas Law, can provide valuable insights for developing educational interventions and deepen understanding.

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.

The inclusion of a graphical-geometric representations in the teaching of the Mach-Zender interferometer, such as the Bloch sphere, appears to encourage learners to integrate other, redundant external representations.

Interview participants use coherence between mathematical and qualitative sensemaking to reconstruct equations when they have been forgotten.

Students with little experience in quantum physics showed improved performance and reduced cognitive load when using Dimensional Circle Notation for multi-qubit systems.

On a test with parallel questions about electric and magnetic fields, students struggled with superposition, field representations, and conflated idea from electric to magnetic fields.

Students in math and physics courses, recognize and navigate cultural differences between the two disciplines.

A quasiexperimental study found no differences in student understanding in classes that used smartphones and tablets as experimental tools.

Students in a Quantum Mechanics course demonstrated a variety of metarepresentational competences in change of basis problem interviews.

Action research project showed that careful course material selection and appropriate mathematical tools helped to overcome students negative attitudes toward theoretical physics.

When lab students shared roles attitudinal variables improved, and when they split roles the attitudinal variables were worse.

Based on a two-stage cognitive diagnostic model, an assessment tool was developed showing that students with identical physics scores can have clearly different patterns of concept mastery and misconceptions.

Generative AI, ChatGPT 5.4 specifically, can be used to develop bots that produce practice problems and then with a reasonable amount of training, provide useful formative feedback.

Gendered identities and power dynamics discourage young women from negotiating and sustaining positive choices in physics and math.

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

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

Students in a physics program with a computational emphasis show increased computational skill, but the development of these skills is not a steady progression and instead influenced by specific experiences.

Interviews with students reveals students engage in coordination and encapsulation when reasoning about the 2-d heat equation.

While undergraduates before instruction have greater conceptual understanding of DC circuits than high school students, the common misunderstandings are present in relatively similar frequencies.

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

This study shows that prior preparation strongly predicts success in upper-level E&M, with strong links between conceptual understanding and quantitative performance.

Classroom implementations of active learning fall into five distinct styles that do not correspond to named methods, yet all achieve comparable student learning outcomes.

An intervention aimed at improving understanding of equations reveals performance improvements using two strategies, dimensional analysis and special case analysis.

Interview study identifies four distinct reasons faculty choose to share or not share elements of their identities.

Students value AI feedback more when prompts are systematically structured.

Core epistemic aims and values of quantum computation include objectivity, simplicity, accuracy, and novelty.

In an eye-tracking study, students spent more time on information redundant problems although there were no differences in performance.

Students use classroom experiments as analogies to build conceptual models of atmospheric processes on Earth and exoplanets.

Informal physics outreach programs strengthen students’ resilience, sense of belonging, physics identity, and career skills across diverse institutional contexts.

DeepSeek improves instructional design quality for pre-service teachers, though its success depends on proactive interaction rather than passive use.

A research-based guide for physics educators to design, implement, and evaluate DEI interventions that create positive learning experiences for all students.