Education research is our focus
Welcome to PER-Central, a resource collection for physics education researchers. Here you may find articles, theses and dissertations, research groups, curricular material, and news and events of interest to the PER Community. Learn more about PER-Central.
PER Literature
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Or find an article by topic:
- Basic Research
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By Topic:
Astronomy, Classical Mechanics, Electricity & Magnetism, Fluid Mechanics, General Physics, Mathematical Tools, Modern Physics, Optics, Oscillations & Waves, Other Sciences, Quantum Physics, Relativity, Thermo & Stat Mech
Reviews in PER
Over the past two decades, the PER community has developed a number of effective instructional strategies for calculus-based university physics classes.
This review article helps to bring a set of those results to the instructional community:
Investigative Science Learning Environment - A Science Process Approach to Learning Physics
by E. Etkina and A. Van Heuvelen.
Find more articles that help to bridge research and practice in Volume 1 of Reviews in PER.
Community Resources
PER Programs
Browse the different PER groups and their descriptions on the PER Program Map.
For the Classroom
An Inquiry- and Laboratory-based Curriculum for the Introductory Algebra-based Physics Course
These inquiry- and laboratory-based modules by Beth Thacker are designed for an algebra-based introductory physics course. The modules are largely based on Workshop Physics techniques and include health science applications when appropriate.
Find more PER-based Curricular Materials: Course Packages | Student Activities | Pedagogy Guides
Research Instruments
Colorado Upper Division Electrostatics (CUE) Asssessment
The Colorado Upper Division Electrostatics (CUE) Asssessment is designed to test student understanding of core learning goals in junior-level E&M. It consists of a 17-item open-ended test with optional 9-item pretest.
PER Events 
Foundations and Frontiers of Physics Education Research 2013
The biennial FFPER conference will be held June 17-21, 2013 in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Physics Education Research Conference 2013
The theme of PERC 2013 is From Fearing Physics to Having Fun with Physics: Exploring the Affective Domain of Physics Learning from Multiple Perspectives. The conference will be held July 17-18, 2013 in Portland, OR following the Summer AAPT meeting.
