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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 Programs

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Browse the different PER groups and their descriptions on the PER Program Map.

For the Classroom

SEI: Upper-division Electrostatics (E&M I) Course Materials

SEI: Upper-division Electrostatics (E&M I) Course Materials
This web site contains the research-based curricular materials on junior-level Electricity and Magnetism developed by the University of Colorado Science Education Initiative group. This course is the first semester of a two-semester course covering electro- and magneto-statics and closely follows the standard text by David Griffiths, "Introduction to Electrodynamics." The materials provided include concept tests, homework questions, tutorials, lecture notes, instructor guides, and the results of studies of student difficulties with the class.

Find more PER-based Curricular Materials: Course Packages | Student Activities | Pedagogy Guides

Research Instruments

Symmetry and Gauss's Law Conceptual Evaluation

Symmetry and Gauss's Law Conceptual Evaluation
The Symmetry and Gauss's Law Conceptual Evaluation, developed by Chandralekha Singh, is a research-based multiple-choice test designed to evaluate students' conceptual understanding of symmetry and Gauss's Law. The test is appropriate for research in calculus-based introductory physics courses or upper-level undergraduate E&M courses.

Find more assessment instruments