Education research is our focus
Welcome to PER-Central, a resource collection for physics education researchers. Here you may find articles, theses and dissertations, research groups, curricular material, and news and events of interest to the PER Community. Learn more about PER-Central.
PER Literature
Search the literature by:
Or find an article by topic:
- Basic Research
- Achievement
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- Applied Research
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By Topic:
Astronomy, Classical Mechanics, Electricity & Magnetism, Fluid Mechanics, General Physics, Mathematical Tools, Modern Physics, Optics, Oscillations & Waves, Other Sciences, Quantum Physics, Relativity, Thermo & Stat Mech
Reviews in PER
Volume 2 of Reviews in PER is dedicated to helping researchers get started in Physics Education Research.
In this review article, a member of the PER community presents an overview of an area of PER:
Getting Started in Qualitative Physics Education Research
by V. K. Otero and D. B. Harlow.
Find more articles introducing PER research methods in Volume 2 of Reviews in PER.
Community Resources
PER Programs
Browse the different PER groups and their descriptions on the PER Program Map.
For the Classroom
SEI: Classical Mechanics/Math Methods I Course Materials
This website provides the materials to teach a transformed sophomore-level classical mechanics/math methods course. The provided course is the first semester of a two-semester sequence at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Find more PER-based Curricular Materials: Course Packages | Student Activities | Pedagogy Guides
Research Instruments
Determining and Interpreting Resistive Electric Circuit Concepts Test
DIRECT, developed by Engelhardt and Beichner, is designed to evaluate students' reasoning regarding direct current resistive electric circuits. The test may be administered to students in algebra- or calculus-based introductory physics courses.
