In this study, our aim was to identify high school and university students' post-instruction conceptions about the law of conservation of mechanical energy (LCME). A cross-sectional survey design was used. Firstly, a test consisting of 14 multiple-choice questions was developed. 23 physics teachers analysed the test and concluded that our…

Diversity and inclusion in the field of physics has been an important area of research in the last two decades. However, such work has scarcely looked at the concerns and barriers faced by LGBT+ physicists, despite numerous indications they face discrimination in wider society. This article presents the first study looking at the climate…

This study aims to explore the pattern of external representation of suspending objects in a static fluid. The study used a qualitative descriptive method involving 57 elementary, junior, senior school, and university students. Data collection implemented a 30-item test covering the dominant context of suspending and partially floating and…

Computational thinking (CT) is an essential skill in the twenty-first century. The computational physics course (CPC) is one subject that is designed to support students in the practice of CT. Many studies show that the worksheets could be a solution in a CPC as a scaffold to achieve the CT objectives both online and offline. The study aims to…

Archimedes' principle is one of the foundation subjects in physics. Normally the principle is exemplified by reference to floating boats. However, Archimedes' principle also applies to objects embedded in waterlogged ground, which can lead to the surprising result of an object weighing several tons being lifted. A practical example is presented of…

Instructors of introductory college physics courses are in a unique position to explain the physics of skateboarding and its associated risks. A field trip to a skate park to explore the law of conservation of energy and measure the impact forces can enhance student analytical thinking skills and their appreciation of physics in everyday life.…

This quantitative study sought to examine the role of self-efficacy on the enrollment decisions made by women for a second year of high school physics. Not enough information is known about why there is a significant decrease in the proportion of women in second year high school physics programs after their introductory year. This study took place…

The difference between students' ideas and scientific conceptions, is called misconceptions. Physics learning needs to be designed by teachers to eradicate misconceptions. This paper provides a review of 72 international journal articles on diagnosis methods, causes, and ways of remediating misconceptions that have been published between…

This article revisits and expands upon a previous phenomenographic study characterising the qualitatively different ways in which South African undergraduate physics students may experience the use of +/- signs in one-dimensional kinematics (1DK). We find the original categorisation as applicable for interpreting Swedish university-level students'…

The Poisson distribution describes the probability of a certain number of events occurring in an interval of time when the occurrence of the individual events is independent of one another and the events occur with a fixed mean rate. Probably the best-known example of the Poisson distribution in the physics curriculum is the temporal distribution…

When students were exposed to cognitive conflict and 5E teaching models, this study looked at the impact of cognitive ability on their conceptual change in the particulate nature of matter in physics. With a sample of 195 first-year upper secondary school students, the study used a quasi-experimental design with non-equivalent groups. The data…

Student difficulties with making sense of graphs in physics have been thoroughly reported. In the study of one-dimensional waves, the issue is even trickier since the amplitude is a function of two variables (position and time). In this work, we investigate students' reasoning and difficulties with interpreting the graphical representation of the…

Students sometimes learn about a model of the "scientific method" that is linear and clear cut. While this approach may have pedagogical advantages, it does not reflect how science is often done in practice. The Experimental Modeling Framework (EMF) describes the complex and iterative process of experimentation in the domain of physics,…

Creating equitable learning environments has been an area of significant focus for physics education researchers in recent years. Here we introduce a framework that posits that grade penalty is a measure of academic self-concept and investigate if there are gender differences in grade penalties in physics courses for students majoring in physics.…

Across science disciplines, light is a common tool for measuring, characterizing, and catalysing molecules and molecular processes. Despite the ubiquity of light-based tools, little research has been done to investigate how students understand light and light-matter interactions (LMI). This topic is typically first introduced in first-year…