Hurricane and galaxy tidal effect are routine teaching topics in community college first year science courses, but there is a knowledge gap without a quantitative discussion of the physics of non-inertia frame. A survey of YouTube videos posted by Education Centers and professors showed that the hand-waving conceptual explanation is the most…

The implementation of California Assembly Bill (CAB) 705 has impacted how students enroll into Physics courses. This paralleled anecdotal evidence of a decline in student mathematical abilities. The goal of this research study was to determine the existence of a relationship between CAB 705 and student success in specific Physics courses. This…

This paper is a proposal, project, and dissertation for Kenneth Johnson, Doctor of Philosophy degree in Science Education, in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa. I propose analyzing the writing assignment in an undergraduate online physics course offered by a small midwestern community college (CC). The goal is to study how Writing to…

This chapter describes the last 30 years of the engagement of community college faculty with one physics professional society. Plans are under development for establishing a National Center for Physics focused on two-year colleges.

Objective: Community colleges have considerable potential to grow the number of individuals who complete STEM baccalaureate degrees and to broaden access to educational opportunities in STEM. However, efforts to tap this potential have been hampered by nagging questions about whether community colleges prepare students adequately for advanced STEM…

Transparency in learning and teaching (TILT) is a framework designed to enhance student engagement, learning, and overall success. The efficacy of TILT has been demonstrated through positive data, making it a promising method for higher education institutions to implement and adapt. In addition to increasing traditional students' mastery of…

The damped harmonic oscillator physics problem is a standard oscillation problem in calculus physics for pre-engineering students in a community college. The use of alternative linear algebra eigenvalue stability method is consistent with the upper engineering courses using control theory. The external force and friction damping would become the…

In this study, conceptual and algebra-based physics students were engaged in scientific inquiry using Physics Education Technology (PhET) interactive simulations via semester-long group projects. The instructor and students used the Scientific Abilities Assessment Rubrics (SAAR) to evaluate project presentations and papers (formative assessment).…

Physics educators keep adding many skill developments to science and engineering students during their education as individuals and groups including critical thinking, conceptual understanding, problem-solving, mathematical implementation, computational implementation, etc. Here, we are discussing how to reach and analyse students' outcomes within…

Scientific expertise is manifested through extensive cycles of making and acting on decisions. To learn the processes and practices of science, therefore, students must have practice with scientific decision making. We argue that this can only happen if students are afforded agency: the opportunity to make decisions to pursue a goal. In this…

The PhD Plus 10 Study was the first-ever follow-up of mid-career physics PhD recipients. In 2011 individuals who graduated with a physics PhD from the classes of 1996, 1997, 2000, and 2001 in the United States were contacted. Of those who responded to the survey, 597 were employed in academia, 464 academic employees worked in physics or astronomy…

Curiosity is associated with cognitive development and learning. In fact, Piaget suggested that being curious is a prerequisite for knowledge construction. One way to increase curiosity is to put individuals in situations of uncertainty, so that they become motivated to seek knowledge of the unfamiliar. A teaching method that appears to do this…

Concept inventory (CI) tests are typically used to measure students' general knowledge before and after instruction. We find issue with the current format of these tests, which some researchers claim, measure students' misconceptions, since the answers choices given to students do not consider their prior knowledge. We particularly analyze Force…

Interdisciplinary education offers a collaborative approach to multifaceted topics, such as environmental sustainability. In this article, we present the conceptual framework and lessons learned from a team-taught course, entitled Sustainability, Energy, and the Green Economy (SEGE). Faculty from the departments of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology…

Is physics education research based on a representative sample of students? To answer this question we skimmed physics education research papers from three journals for the years 1970-2015 looking for the number of research subjects, the course the subjects were enrolled in, and the institution where the research was conducted. We combined this…