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
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:
Selection, Generalization, and Theories of Cause in Physics Education Research: Connecting Paradigms and Practices
by A. D. Robertson, S. B. McKagan, and R. E. Scherr.
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
SEI Upper-Division Quantum Mechanics I Transformed Course Materials
This web site provides research-based materials for junior-level quantum mechanics 1 courses. Topics covered include the Schrödinger equation, bound state problems, Hilbert space and operators, the hydrogen atom, and spin. The course archives include documented student difficulties, learning goals, ConcepTests (clicker questions), class activities, homework, tutorials, and a conceptual assessment tool.
Find more PER-based Curricular Materials: Course Packages | Student Activities | Pedagogy Guides
Research Instruments
Representational Variant of the Force Concept Inventory (R-FCI)
The R-FCI, developed by Nieminen, Savinainen, and Viiri, is designed to investigate students' ability to interpret multiple representations consistently in the context of four force concepts: Newton's first, second, and third laws, and gravitation. It is based on nine FCI items that have been redesigned using various representations (such as motion map, vectorial, and graphical).
