What is physics education research (PER)?

Magdalena Kersting is a physics education researcher; in this picture, she wears a t-shirt with Einstein's famous equation E=mc2 — (Image via UiO Science Library, All Rights Reserved)

Physics education research (PER) is an interdisciplinary form of research that investigates learning and teaching in physics to improve instructional practices.

Traditionally, PER has stood at the crossroads of physics and the social sciences.

Physics education researchers often use tools and methods from educational research to study learning processes that are unique to the physics discipline.

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The PhD thesis

What distinguishes the discipline-based fields of physics and science education research from educational research more generally? In my PhD thesis, I position physics education research within the greater landscape of the educational sciences.

The manifesto

The Sydney University Physics Education Research (SUPER) group has put together a manifesto in which they outline their motivation and arguments for pursuing physics education research in an academic physics context.