Physics Education Research Conference 2010

PER Topical Group, AAPT Event
July 21, 2010 - July 22, 2010 in Portland, OR

Uncovering the hidden curriculum: Research on scientific, critical, and reflective thinking in the physics classroom

An outsider surveying the physics education research literature might understandably conclude that PER studies and PER-based instructional materials are dominated by concerns about conceptual understanding.  However, a close look at research-based curricula reveals that helping students develop the ability to "think like a physicist" is in many cases at least as important as helping them develop an understanding of specific concepts and principles.  Physics education researchers are examining a broad spectrum of abilities that can be categorized as scientific thinking (i.e., reasoning skills and argumentation practices that feature significantly in physics); critical thinking (i.e., general logical reasoning as applied to, or necessary for, doing physics); and reflective thinking (i.e., thinking about one's own thinking and learning processes).  By focusing on research related to instructional goals that transcend specific subject matter, PERC 2010 will provide the field an opportunity to highlight progress in this area and to identify important avenues for continued work.

Presentations and Schedule

The PERC 2010 conference was held from July 21-22, 2010. For information on specific presentations, please see:

• Invited Talks
• Conference Abstracts:  HTML - PDF
• PER Conference 2010 Schedule:  HTML - PDF
• Conference Proceedings:  Purchase - Papers - Peer Review Statistics

PDF versions of the conference program and of the conference poster abstracts are also available:

Abstract Submissions

Please note that if you presented at the 2010 PERC, you may attach an electronic version of your poster/presentation to your abstract.

Conference Organizers

Andrew Boudreaux, Western Washington University
Paula Heron, University of Washington
Peter Shaffer, University of Washington
MacKenzie Stetzer, University of Washington