In nature, we often observe interesting phenomena for which we would like to find a physical explanation. One such phenomenon is presented in this paper.

The Physics Teacher has published over the years many inspiring papers with an historical slant and we agree with Thomas B. Greenslade, who recently wrote that teaching physics is about "integrating physics with human culture.… if we are going to leave a lasting impact on our students, we should do more than teach them pure physics."…

The use of texts is an indispensable resource for students' learning, especially in science domains. While developing understanding of a specific topic usually is the main goal of reading expository texts, an important consideration is how to best measure whether this understanding has been reached. In this study, we aimed to analyze gains in…

One of the objectives of the undergraduate physics curriculum is for students to become aware of the connections between formal physical principles and personal experience. However, research has shown that awareness of connections between the abstract and the experiential tends to deteriorate, sometimes significantly, after instruction in…

In physics education, the topic of electromagnetic induction is an important but also challenging topic for many students. The early introduction of formulae, e.g., Faraday's law of induction, seems to hinder rather than to foster the understanding of the topic's underlying principles. In this paper, we present the basic idea for a teaching…

It has long been suspected by general relativists that physicists who do not specialize in general relativity (GR) believe that special relativity (SR) is incapable of modeling dynamics within accelerated reference frames. Consequently, many physicists may conclude that certain phenomena, such as time dilation due to acceleration, can only be…

Learning assistants (LAs) play a pivotal role in transforming traditional physics instruction toward a more inquiry-oriented approach. While empirical evidence supports the effectiveness of LA-involved physics instruction, there is a research gap regarding the specific competencies of LAs that contribute to improved conceptual understanding. One…

The subject of physics can sometimes seem esoteric and challenging to engineering students. It would be beneficial to create a more conducive learning environment for them by combining words, mathematical equations, graphs, and diagrams to increase their problem-solving abilities. It has been demonstrated in mechanics that employing multiple…

Difficulties in understanding physics concepts are often experienced by students such as in the material of regular uniform motion. This study aims to describe the mental models of first-year secondary school students on regular straight-line motion. This research utilized a case study method of 167 students at the secondary level with an average…

This study focused on the use of anticipation guides (AG) as a reading strategy to support science reading and explored the level of students' scientific written arguments as a result. An AG consists of four components that address the topic of the reading activity: statements about the content, what I think, what the texts say, and evidence in…

We investigate the multilingual and multimodal performance of a large language model-based artificial intelligence (AI) system, GPT-4o, using a diverse set of physics concept inventories spanning multiple languages and subject categories. The inventories, sourced from the PhysPort website, cover classical physics topics such as mechanics,…

Competition is usually considered a mechanism for the allocation of scarce resources. This paper draws attention to a neglected effect of academic competition: competition provides participants with a normative orientation about field-specific values by informing them about which activities will be rewarded. We conceptualize this as a socializing…

A systematic literature review across multiple scientific disciplines was conducted to explore students' understanding of atomic structure, focusing on students' ACs. A total of 112 publications between 1972 and 2023 were selected for the study. Within the selected body of literature, 851 instances of ACs were distributed across students ranging…

Background: Recognizing the relatively few studies that have explored university students' understanding and alternative conceptions in linear and circular motion as well as the relatively few studies that have used 2-dimensional multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in the science education literature, this study set out to contribute to these areas.…

This article provides a detailed analysis of the various methods used in physics classrooms to teach oscillation and its related concepts. We thoroughly searched reputable databases, including Scopus and Web of Science. We analyzed 50 articles published between 2018 and 2023 using content analysis techniques such as elimination, classification,…