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
Search the literature by:
Or find an article by topic:
- Basic Research
- Achievement
- Alternative Conceptions
- Assessment
- Behavior
- Cognition
- Communication
- Learning Theory
- Problem Solving
- Research Design & Methodology
- Sample Population
- Societal Issues
- Student Characteristics
- Teacher Characteristics
- Applied Research
- Active Learning
- Careers
- Classroom Management
- Curriculum Development
- Informal Education
- Instructional Material Design
- Learning Environment
- Pedagogy
- Professional Development
- Recruitment
- School Improvement
- Teacher Preparation
- Technology
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
Volume 2 of Reviews in PER is dedicated to helping researchers get started in Physics Education Research.
In this review article, a member of the PER community presents an overview of an area of PER:
An Overview on Research on Gender and Under-Represented Ethnicities in Physics Education
by L. McCullough.
Find more articles introducing PER research methods in Volume 2 of Reviews in PER.
Community Resources
PER Programs
Browse the different PER groups and their descriptions on the PER Program Map.
For the Classroom
Open Source Tutorials in Physics with Teaching Assistant Development
This set of guided inquiry tutorials covers 13 topics regularly covered in introductory physics. The authors also provide supporting materials to help teachers make modifications and train TAs in their use.
Find more PER-based Curricular Materials: Course Packages | Student Activities | Pedagogy Guides
Research Instruments
PhysPort: Research-Based Assessments
PhysPort's collection of research-validated physics and astronomy learning assessments and science appreciation surveys are available for many topics and levels of student, from high school through upper division. Information is provided on the goal and structure of each assessment, research results, and best practices for using the assessments. The assessment database also includes the Data Explorer service that analyzes assessments results and compares to national outcomes. Access to the assessments is restricted to verified physics and astronomy educators and researchers.
