This study investigates the cognitive processes of novice students in science learning, with a specific focus on how inhibitory control is employed to overcome a common student misconception about the buoyant force in liquid, which leads to the belief that “the greater the depth an object is in a liquid, the greater the buoyant force it experiences.” Utilizing a negative priming paradigm integrated with eye-tracking technology, the research examines the role of inhibitory control in facilitating conceptual change among novice learners. The findings reveal that successful problem- solving in novices is contingent not only on the acquisition of scientific knowledge but also on the effective activation of inhibitory control over misconceptions. A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated significant effects of student expertise levels and experimental conditions on reaction times, with novices exhibiting significantly longer reaction times compared to experts, indicative of lower inhibitory control ability. However, following targeted intervention, novices’ average reaction times progressively decreased, approaching those of experts, suggesting an improvement in inhibitory control. Additionally, eye movement data analysis revealed distinct differences in information processing strategies between novice and expert students. Novices frequently engaged in reviewing and comparing information across multiple areas during problem solving, whereas experts exhibited more efficient information processing, rapidly identifying and suppressing misconceptions. The eye-tracking data provided further insights into the cognitive processes and behavioral patterns of novices across different intervention phases, highlighting the dynamic interplay between inhibitory control and conceptual learning. These findings underscore the critical role of inhibitory control in overcoming misconceptions and offer implications for the design of targeted instructional interventions.

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Artificial Intelligence Tools in Physics Teaching and Physics Education Research.] Generative AI tools, including the popular ChatGPT, have had a significant impact on discourses about future work and educational practices. Previous research in science education has highlighted the potential of generative AI in various education-related areas, including generating valuable discussion material, solving physics problems, and acting as a tutor. However, little research has been conducted on the role of generative AI tools in laboratory work, an essential part of science education, and physics education specifically. Here, we show various ways in which high school students use ChatGPT during a physics laboratory session and discuss the relevance of using generative AI tools to investigate acoustic levitation and the speed of sound in air. Additionally, employing variation theory as a theoretical lens in the analysis, we identify how generative AI can be used to further develop students’ problem-solving skills in the physics laboratory. However, although our study shows that generative AI tools may handle some relevant questions and problems during laboratory work, the teacher still plays a crucial role in identifying students’ needs and capabilities of understanding the potential and limitations of generative AI. Finally, this study serves as an important point of discussion regarding the ways in which students need support and training to efficiently utilize generative AI to further their learning of physics.

When describing motion in physics, the selection of a frame of reference is crucial. The graph of a moving object can look quite different based on the frame of reference. In recent years, various tests have been developed to assess the interpretation of kinematic graphs, but none of these tests have specifically addressed differences in reference frames. Moreover, existing tests that explore differences in reference frame typically focus on the equivalence principle through written answers, interviews, or simple calculations and vector addition; however, none of these tests evaluate position-time graphs. To address this gap in the research, we developed and evaluated the Inventory of Galilean Transformation of uniform linear motion in position-time graphs (IGT). The IGT consists of 15 multiple-choice items that systematically use position-time graphs of linear uniform motion to assess the understanding of 3 types of Galilean transformations: the identity transformation, the transformation between two (opposing) stationary displaced frames of reference, and the transformation from a stationary into a uniformly moving frame of reference. Herein, we presented the development and validation of the IGT. A total of 532 upper secondary school students in the advanced track participated in the multistage development process. We evaluated the psychometric properties via classical test theory and item response theory. The degree of item discrimination and reliability were within the desired range. The IGT demonstrated good internal consistency ($\omega =0.88$), and confirmatory factor analysis supported the intended structure of the test. Rasch analysis revealed that the item difficulties were consistent with the increasing complexity of the three different transformations. The IGT also revealed several alternative student conceptions about frames of references, such as confusion between two scenarios of cars crossing versus overtaking, as well as misunderstandings regarding the changing shape of a graph when a uniformly moving object is transformed into a moving frame of reference. In its current form, the IGT serves as a new instrument for assessing students’ ability to interpret position-time graphs under the influence of the Galilean transformation, making it suitable for formative or summative assessment in advanced upper secondary education.

Embedding physics problems in real-world settings—here termed contextualized physics problems (CPPs)—is widely believed to foster students’ interest, motivation, and learning. However, firm evidence for this claim remains scarce. To explore this issue, we surveyed 868 secondary students and 154 teachers to examine their attitudes toward CPP and investigate whether students and teachers perceive these problems as promoting student interest and motivation in learning physics. The findings reveal a divergence between teacher and student perspectives. While most teachers view CPP as essential for enhancing interest and motivation, student responses tell a different story. Contextualized problems appear to boost interest and motivation only among 8th graders who are newly introduced to the subject. From 9th to 11th grade, students expressed a clear preference for decontextualized physics problems and generally disagreed that CPP increased their interest in physics. Gender differences were also observed among younger students, with boys showing a moderately stronger preference for CPP than girls. These results provide valuable insights for educators in designing course materials and creating effective test and exercise questions. The discrepancy between teacher and student perceptions, as highlighted by the surveys and interviews, underscores the need to address this gap through targeted teacher training and professional development.

Large language models (LLMs) are now widely accessible, reaching learners across all educational levels. This development has raised concerns that their use may circumvent essential learning processes and compromise the integrity of established assessment formats. In physics education, where problem solving plays a central role in both instruction and assessment, it is therefore essential to understand the physics-specific problem-solving capabilities of LLMs. Such understanding is key to informing responsible and pedagogically sound approaches to integrating LLMs into instruction and assessment. This study therefore compares the problem-solving performance of a general-purpose LLM ($GPT\text{−}4o$, using varying prompting techniques) and a reasoning-optimized model ($o1$-preview) with that of participants in the German Physics Olympiad, based on a set of well-defined Olympiad problems. In addition to evaluating the correctness of the generated solutions, the study analyzes the characteristic strengths and limitations of LLM-generated solutions. The results of this study indicate that both tested LLMs ($GPT\text{−}4o$ and $o1$-preview) demonstrate advanced problem-solving capabilities on Olympiad-type physics problems, on average outperforming the human participants. Prompting techniques had little effect on $GPT\text{−}4o$’s performance, and $o1$-preview almost consistently outperformed both $GPT\text{−}4o$ and the human benchmark. The main implications of these findings are twofold: LLMs pose a challenge for summative assessment in unsupervised settings, as they can solve advanced physics problems at a level that exceeds top-performing students, making it difficult to ensure the authenticity of student work. At the same time, their problem-solving capabilities offer potential for formative assessment, where LLMs can support students in evaluating their own solutions to problems.

One expected outcome of physics instruction is that students develop quantitative reasoning skills, including strategies for evaluating solutions to problems. Examples of well-known “canonical” evaluation strategies include special case analysis, unit analysis, and checking for reasonable numbers. We report on responses from three tasks in different physics contexts prompting students in an introductory calculus-based physics sequence to evaluate expressions for various quantities: the velocity of a block at the bottom of an incline with friction, the final velocities of two masses involved in an elastic collision, and the electric field due to three point charges. Responses from written ($\mathit{N}=580$) and interview ($\mathit{N}=18$) data were analyzed using modified grounded theory and phenomenology. We also employed the analytical framework of epistemic frames. Students’ evaluation strategies were classified into three broad categories: consulting external sources, checking through computation, and comparing to the physical world. Some of the evaluation strategies observed in our data, including canonical as well as noncanonical strategies, have been reported in prior research on evaluation, albeit sometimes with different names and with varying levels of generalizability. We note four major, general observations prompted by our results. First, most students did not evaluate solutions to physics problems using an approach that an expert would consider an evaluation strategy. Second, many students used evaluation strategies that emphasized computation. Third, many students used evaluation strategies that are not canonical but are nonetheless useful. Fourth, the relative prevalence of different strategies was highly dependent on the task context. We conclude with remarks including implications for classroom instruction.

In 2003, Bailey and Slater [A review of astronomy education research, Astron. Educ. Rev. 2, 20 (2003)] published a review of astronomy education research (AER) to survey the field, identify areas of robust coverage, and uncover gaps in the research to help guide future researchers. While our review is not intended as a direct comparison to their original work, we aim to update the field’s progress since that time. After initially considering more than 450 works, primarily peer-reviewed publications, we focused on research conducted in undergraduate settings or related to non-K-12-teaching adults, such as planetarium professionals, participants in massive open online courses, and citizen scientists. We identified seven broad categories of research, continuing several categories from the original study, such as student understanding and efficacy of instructional strategies, while also introducing new topics, such as authentic research experiences. These findings demonstrate the evolution of AER over the past two decades. The largest body of research remains focused on the efficacy and implementation of instructional strategies. Progress has also been made in exploring technology use (e.g., simulations) in introductory astronomy classrooms and integrating active learning into fully online courses. Notably, course-based undergraduate research experiences have emerged as a new focus in AER. Moving forward, future research should better incorporate educational theory (e.g., mechanisms of learning) and explore the unique educational opportunities offered within astronomy.

Despite the recognition that reflection is an essential part of problem solving, it is often not emphasized in upper-division physics courses. In this paper, we discuss homework corrections (HWCs) as a pedagogical tool to motivate reflection on homework assignments. We focus on gaining a qualitative understanding of how students may engage with the process of homework corrections, considering potential impacts on content understanding, metacognitive skills, and affect. To do so, we present three comparative case studies to elucidate different aspects of student engagement with HWCs; we also present descriptive statistics of participation in HWCs. We find that HWCs can be a useful pedagogical tool, but more scaffolding may be necessary to support students in identifying and learning from their mistakes, even in upper-division courses.

Understanding particle motion in force fields (PMFF), which encompasses the nature of forces and the relationship between force and motion, is fundamental to mastering mechanics and electromagnetism. Effectively solving PMFF-related problems requires advanced reasoning skills and the ability to apply knowledge across diverse contexts. Despite evidence that students often encounter significant challenges with these concepts, comprehensive assessment tools to reliably evaluate their understanding remain limited. In high school and introductory college physics courses, the most commonly studied force fields include those generated by a point mass or a point charge, as well as uniform gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields. The basic types of motion observed in these fields include uniform linear motion, uniformly accelerated rectilinear motion, uniformly accelerated curvilinear motion, and uniform circular motion. This study developed a nine-item multiple-choice test designed to assess students’ understanding of PMFF concepts. Data were collected from 34 college physics majors using test scores, interviews, and eye-tracking technology. The analysis revealed several alternative conceptions that varied depending on the specific force field context. Students performed relatively well in uniform force field scenarios but faced significant difficulties with fields generated by a point mass or a point charge, as well as uniform magnetic fields. In fields of a point mass or point charge, common misconceptions centered on uniformly accelerated motion. In the uniform magnetic field context, students often struggled to differentiate between uniform linear motion and uniformly accelerated curvilinear motion. Eye-tracking data provided additional insights, revealing attention patterns that corroborated the observed difficulties. These findings highlight critical areas where students face challenges in understanding PMFF. The results can guide future research efforts to develop targeted educational interventions aimed at addressing these specific learning difficulties, ultimately improving student comprehension of PMFF concepts.

This research investigated how freshman students’ epistemological beliefs in physics are impacted by gender and academic performance in a general physics course. Data were collected from 1220 university freshman students from 22 different programs in Türkiye. In this causal-comparative research, the well-known Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey (CLASS) was used to assess students’ beliefs about physics and learning physics. A Turkish version of the CLASS, consisting of 20 items measuring problem-solving effort, conceptual understanding, and personal interest and real-world connection, was employed. Additionally, demographic data such as gender, cumulative grade point average (CGPA), and previous academic performance in the General Physics I Course were collected. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the reliability analysis of the whole scale was calculated as 0.844. The two-way between-groups multivariate analysis of covariance (two-way MANCOVA) test was used to answer the research question. The results indicated that gender and achievement level in the general physics course independently had significant effects on students’ scores on three CLASS survey subscales when their CGPAs were controlled. An inspection of the mean scores indicated that males showed higher scores in the three CLASS subscale scores than females. Additionally, high-achieving groups were found to have higher scores in the three subscale scores than medium-achieving and low-achieving groups. The results were discussed and suggested how the results could be applied to improve physics education.

This exploratory field study investigates the integration of innovative forms of recitation tasks in a first-year introductory mechanics course, focusing on smartphone-based experimental tasks alongside programming and standard recitation tasks. Smartphones, combined with external sensor modules, serve as a gateway enabling students to conduct various low-cost and authentic physics experiments with first-hand data collection outside traditional lab settings. These tasks aim to enhance students’ agency in independent physics experimentation and enrich homework assignments by dissolving boundaries between lectures, recitation sessions, and traditional labs, and thereby linking theoretical and experimental aspects of undergraduate physics education. To explore this potential, we implemented and evaluated a sample set of nine smartphone-based experimental tasks and, for comparison, three programming tasks as weekly exercises in a first-year physics course at RWTH Aachen University. We investigated students’ perceptions of learning with these new tasks through 12 short surveys involving up to 188 participants, focusing on factors such as goal clarity, difficulty, or feasibility at home. In two additional surveys with 108 and 78 participants, students assessed affective responses to the smartphone-based experimental tasks relative to the programming and standard recitation tasks. Our findings indicate that the smartphone-based experimental tasks were generally well suited to the students and tended to outperform the programming tasks in terms of perceptions of learning with the tasks and affective responses. Overall, students responded positively to the new experimental tasks, with perceptions comparable to, or only partly below, those of long-established standard recitation tasks. These results suggest that smartphone-based experimental tasks can be successfully integrated into teaching and contribute to refining traditional recitation tasks. Students’ differentiated perceptions of the three task types investigated offer valuable insights into how students perceived technology-enhanced recitation tasks in terms of feasibility, engagement, and instructional value. This provides a meaningful basis for instructors and researchers aiming to design more effective and student-centered learning environments in undergraduate physics education.

This study investigates how undergraduate physics majors develop an interest in specific subfields. We examine interest formation through the lens of social cognitive career theory (SCCT) using four SCCT constructs: learning experiences, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and proximal environmental influences. We conducted 27 interviews with physics majors across multiple years of study between 2020 and 2022. Our first research question used SCCT constructs to provide detailed insights into factors affecting interest formation in various subfields of physics. We identified many factors that positively impacted students’ interests, such as positive learning experiences (e.g., coursework, experimental projects, extracurricular clubs, and self-directed learning), high self-efficacy (e.g., encourages seeking new opportunities and developing positive outlooks on future careers), outcome expectations (e.g., wanting a stable job and work-life balance), and proximal environmental factors (e.g., influences from the COVID-19 pandemic and institutional factors). Our second research question involves a comparison between the two subfields that had the largest number of students expressing interest, which were astronomy and astrophysics and biomedical physics. Exposure to astronomy occurred prior to college, while biomedical physics was usually encountered during college. Additionally, outcome expectations related to biomedical physics revolved around practical or clinical applications that helped people, while astronomy was linked to fundamental, curiosity-driven research. By understanding these factors that affect how students develop their interests, we hope to provide valuable insights to physics departments and career guidance professionals who want to better support physics majors’ transitions beyond the bachelor’s degree.

Quantitative reasoning is an essential learning objective of physics instruction. The Physics Inventory for Quantitative Literacy (PIQL) is a published assessment tool that has been developed for calculus-based physics courses to help instructors evaluate whether their students learn to reason this way. However, the PIQL is not appropriate for the large population of students taking physics who are not enrolled in, or have not completed, calculus. To address this need, we have developed the General Equation-based Reasoning inventory of QuaNtity (GERQN). The GERQN is an algebra-based version of the PIQL and is appropriate for most physics students; the only requirement is that students have taken algebra, so they are familiar with the use of variables, negative quantities, and linear functions. In this paper, we present the development and validation of the GERQN, and a short discussion on how the GERQN can be used by instructors to help their students learn.

Despite its intellectual and philosophical significance, cosmology and general relativity (GR) remain largely inaccessible to high-school physics teaching because of the advanced conceptual and mathematical prerequisites to master these topics. Integrating them into upper secondary physics teaching, outside specialized courses, poses a significant challenge that remains unresolved. While the strong rationale for their inclusion in the curriculum is widely acknowledged, significant obstacles, both practical and conceptual, hinder implementation. Moreover, empirical evidence on successful classroom and curriculum integration of modern physics remains scarce. This contribution reports on an implementation study of a GR and cosmology course developed for upper secondary school students as part of an educational project launched during the centenary of GR in 2015 and tested ever since for several years. The course aimed to expand students’ knowledge to include current physics topics while highlighting their foundations in areas of classical physics such as Newtonian mechanics, electromagnetism, and waves. Targeted teaching and learning materials are focused on conceptual and qualitative understanding, while systematically combined with a mathematical treatment accessible at the upper secondary level, avoiding oversimplification. A key element is an active learning approach, incorporating activities and tasks such as engaging applications related to current research, reflective exercises, thought experiments, and hands-on tasks. The main research objective was to explore whether a conceptually deep and educationally effective GR and cosmology course could be successfully implemented for nonspecialist upper secondary students. A pre-post study assessed both conceptual learning and affective outcomes, including interest, curiosity, self-concept, and perceived relevance of science. Results showed encouraging gains in both learning and motivation, with large to very large effect sizes for conceptual learning of core principles. Additionally, no or small effects of predictors such as gender were observed. We conclude that the integration of GR and cosmology into upper secondary physics teaching, in the form of courses and materials that are engaging, comprehensible, and impactful, is feasible. This can enable learners in nonspecialist courses and with diverse backgrounds to engage with these intellectually and educationally rich and stimulating topics.

This study examined how students utilized metacognition while solving physics problems. A case study design was implemented, involving 30 11th-grade students. Data were collected by using open-ended physics problems, with a think-aloud strategy applied during the process. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted using the metacognition during problem-solving rubric, classifying students as either experts or novices. The findings revealed several key insights: First, the majority of high school students fall into the novice category, struggling with the application of metacognitive knowledge and skills while solving physics problems. Second, expert students demonstrate strong evaluation and planning skills but limited metacognitive knowledge and monitoring abilities. Third, novice students exhibit major deficiencies in metacognitive knowledge and monitoring. Fourth, assessment practices focusing heavily on final results may hinder the development of deeper metacognition and problem-solving skills. Fifth, metacognitive knowledge and monitoring are crucial for generating successful solutions for scientific problems, especially in high-complexity tasks. Last, familiarity with the content and the complexity level of the problem may influence students’ success in problem solving. The metacognition rubric developed for this research may serve as a valuable tool for future studies in the field.

Introductory physics is a gateway course that is required for many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. In introductory physics courses, women and racially minoritized students often have lower grades and higher attrition than white men. Inclusive teaching is widely recommended to ensure that all students have the opportunity to fully participate and succeed in the learning process. Thus, inclusive teaching practices may help increase the diversity of people in STEM majors and careers. However, these recommended inclusive teaching practices are not widely used in introductory physics courses. This study seeks to better understand the extent to which introductory college-level physics instructors use inclusive teaching strategies as well as their reasons for the use or nonuse of such practices. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 male instructors from a variety of higher education institutions in Michigan who taught introductory calculus-based physics courses in Spring 2022. The participants were asked to describe their use of and beliefs about 23 specific inclusive teaching strategies. Results show that few of these instructors are aware of the full range of inclusive teaching strategies. Most instructors are aware of inclusive teaching strategies that are related to active learning and frequently articulate valid reasons for implementing these strategies. However, when implementing inclusive teaching strategies, they often do not do so in ways that are known to be most effective. Instructors are less aware of and less willing to use inclusive teaching practices that require acknowledging differences in students’ identities. Their reasoning is that physics is an objective science that has nothing to do with race, gender, or other aspects of identity. Overall, this preliminary study suggests that significant work is needed to help introductory physics instructors understand, value, and implement the full range of inclusive teaching strategies.

In this paper, we describe student understanding of the “force concept” (basic concepts of Newtonian mechanics) by representing it as a vector-valued quantity, which we refer to as the “score-state vector,” in a (30-dimensional) Force Concept Inventory (FCI) score space. We use a large ensemble of FCI results collected throughout Japan to explore the global statistical structure of the vector. We used principal component analysis to project the score-state vector into a three-dimensional subspace and found that the student score states follow a non-normal distribution. The distribution exhibits two snakes and is also skewed like a screw. This implies that the correlation of the second order (such as the commonly used correlation coefficients) is insufficient to describe the global structure of student score states. We find the distribution to be roughly divided into two subdistributions corresponding to novice respondents and intermediate (transient) and expert respondents. This indicates that “novice” and/or “expert” are not additional qualities given to the ensemble of samples but are understood as a label distinguishing the characteristic areas of the entire distribution. In addition, we observe, as a result of the non-normal distribution, the deviation of the second-order correlation of the score-state vector from that of an artificial interitem-uncorrelated ensemble of samples. The observed deviations realize many previously obtained results and present us with many other new results. Although ours is only a first step, it is a necessary process toward constructing a more accurate model of the student’s reasoning about Newtonian mechanics.

Group work is commonly adopted in university science laboratories. However, student small-group discourse in university science labs is rarely investigated. We aim to bridge the gap in the literature by characterizing student discourse group roles in inquiry-based science labs. The instructional context for this study was a summer program hosted at a private research university in the eastern United States. The program was designed as a bridge program for matriculating students who were first generation and/or deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). Accommodations such as interpreters and technological tools were provided for DHH students. We analyzed 19 students’ discourse moves in five lab activities from the video recordings, resulting in a total of 48 student-lab units. We developed codes to describe student discourse moves: asking a question, proposing an idea, participating in discussion, chatting off-task, and talking with instructor. Through a cluster analysis using the 48 student-lab units on quantified discourse moves, we identified four discourse styles, high on-task high social, high on-task low social, low on-task high social, and low on-task low social. The results show that individual students tended to demonstrate varying discourse styles in different lab activities; students’ discourse styles within the same groups tended to be aligned with their group members. By examining group members’ discourse styles in mixed-gender groups, we did not observe a difference in engagement levels between female and male students. DHH students in mixed hearing ability groups, however, were observed to have a lower level of engagement compared to their non-DHH group members. We discuss possible factors that may have contributed to the observations for genders and students with different hearing abilities. We also provide suggestions for promoting equitable small-group discourse in university science labs.