Understanding perceptions of graduate admissions from multiple stakeholders can cultivate an improved understanding about the process of graduate induction, the role that admissions plays in restricting diversity in physics, and contribute to more informed practices for all involved. Prior studies in graduate admissions have reported on how…

Gender differences in students' physics identity in introductory physics courses can influence students' interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and their career decisions. Exploring the components that influence these identities is critical to developing a better understanding of the underrepresentation of women in physics…

Course syllabi are a required component of college and university courses. Syllabi present both broader course structuring practices, are a valuable "first impression" of what instructors want to offer their students, and are used as tools in course design. While best teaching practices suggest specific recommendations for syllabi…

This paper describes how future physics teachers' involvement in annual Family Math and Science Day--a public outreach event at the University of British Columbia, Canada--has a potential to transform them as physics demonstration experts and amateur video producers. These science demonstration videos serve as teaching and learning resources not…

Over the last decade, the "gender gap" in physics conceptual inventory scores has been extensively studied by the physics education research community. Researchers have identified many factors that influence the overall differences in post-test scores between men and women. More recently, it has been shown that the Force Concept…

Understanding how students learn is crucial for helping them succeed. We examined brain function in 107 undergraduate students during a task known to be challenging for many students--physics problem solving--to characterize the underlying neural mechanisms and determine how these support comprehension and proficiency. Further, we applied module…

I investigated two late 19th-century methods for capturing magnetic field images from iron filings for historical insight into the pedagogy of hands-on physics education methods, and to flesh out teaching and learning practicalities tacit in the historical record. Both methods offer opportunities for close sensory engagement in data-collection…

Using the simplest possible quantum system--the qubit--the fundamental concepts of quantum physics can be introduced. This highlights the common features of many different physical systems, and provides a unifying framework when teaching quantum physics at the high school or introductory level. In a previous "TPT" article and in a…

This is the second in a series of two articles on using antique devices to teach introductory physics. As mentioned in the first article, students can more clearly see the physics required for the operation of antique devices than for modern-day technological devices. This article further discusses antiques used to teach vibrations and waves,…

Image modelling is a recent technique in physics education that includes digital tools for image treatment and analysis, such as digital stroboscopic photography (DSP) and video analysis software. It is commonly used to analyse the motion of objects. In this work we show how to determine the position of the centre of mass (CM) of objects with…

This paper shows how it is possible to construct a very simple device for the measurement of magnetic flux densities in an educational context. It is also shown how such a device can be interfaced to a microcontroller with plotting-software to facilitate the study of magnetic fields produced by a current-carrying coil.

Students often find astronomy and astrophysics to be most interesting and exciting, but the Universe is difficult to access using only one's eyes or simple equipment available at different educational settings. To open up the Universe and enhance learning astronomy and astrophysics different planetarium software can be used. In this article we…

In the school year 2012-2013 about 50 students (Fig. 1), managed by mentors (teachers from the middle school Gimnazija Vic in Ljubljana, Slovenia) created an atmospheric probe and launched it into an altitude of more than 30 km above Earth's surface. The aim of this "space expedition" was to take pictures of Earth and to measure how air…

"MythBusters," the long-running though recently discontinued Discovery Channel science entertainment television program, has proven itself to be far more than just a highly rated show. While its focus is on entertainment, the show employs an array of pedagogical techniques to communicate scientific concepts to its audience. These…

Without question, one of the most useful tools an astronomer or physicist can employ to study the universe is spectroscopy. However, for students in introductory physics or astronomy classes, spectroscopy is a relatively abstract concept that combines new physics topics such as thermal radiation, atomic physics, and the wave and particle nature of…