While laboratories have long been associated with introductory physics courses, there is doubt as to whether they positively impact student learning. Holmes and Wieman found that students who elected to take optional laboratories fared no better across a range of metrics than their counterparts who did not participate. In addition, these…

Recent research emphasizes the need for a more sustained interaction of schools with universities and research institutions. For example, informal after-school programs integrated into the school curriculum can provide opportunities for meaningful interaction with researchers in active learning settings. At the physics department of University of…

The present review intends to show the current state of teaching quantum-related content, to analyze and compare its learning efficiency, and to give a systemized overview of quantum-educational activities in the last years. We focus on teaching and learning elements, their innovative tools, and process-oriented studies that are empirically…

Graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are key partners in the education of undergraduates. Given the potentially large impact GTAs can have on undergraduate student learning, it is important to provide them with appropriate preparation for teaching. But GTAs are students themselves, and not all of them desire to pursue an academic career. Fully…

The purpose of this paper is to describe a three-year limited-run offer of an energy science certificate in the University of Hawaii at Hilo campus, along with lessons learned that can be of use to other institutions considering comparable programs. Energy science is a loosely defined discipline that traditionally straddles physics and mechanical,…

While interdisciplinary approaches in the STEM subjects are widely advocated there are concerns that disciplinary learning can be compromised, especially in mathematics. The Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Science (IMS) project is a three-year longitudinal study in four Victorian primary schools that has developed a pedagogical approach to…

Informal physics programs bring physicists together with youth and adults from local communities to engage with physics content outside of classroom settings. These public engagement or "physics outreach" programs are a significant endeavor of the physics community; however, we lack a systemic documentation of these efforts, which makes…

This article looks at how the nature of truth in science is not absolute and in accepting the idea that certain 'laws' are sufficiently true we can unlock the rigidity of discipline-based scientific thinking to make the possibility of tackling many of the grand challenges facing society a reality. The nature of Open Science is focused on the fact…

This chapter describes how faculty from the "teach"HOUSTON program and physics department collaborated to increase the number of highly qualified physics teachers. Prior to this collaboration, the University had not produced even one physics teacher graduate in the previous decade. A physics teacher education pathway has been established…

The second article (Part 2) builds on the theoretical and contextual foundation developed in paper one by exploring in more depth how to teach tennis based on the use of USTA modified equipment and Tennis Canada's play-practice-play program. Drawing on the enactivist cognitive approach to teaching tennis, this paper shows how tennis players,…

Constructing Direct Current (DC) electric circuits is simple and engaging for primary students, but that is not all there is to learning about electricity. Mandatory learning in the Australian Curriculum: Science (ACARA, 2018) expects Year 6 students to explain some of the processes underlying electric circuits. The abstract nature of key…

Einsteinian physics represents a distinct paradigm shift compared to Newtonian physics. There is worldwide interest in introducing Einsteinian physics concepts early in school curriculum and trials have demonstrated that this is feasible. However introducing Einsteinian concepts from an early age requires more than suitable curriculum and teaching…

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted every aspect of academic activity, including the informal education and public engagement efforts of physics departments and institutions. As part of a large-scale national survey of the landscape of informal physics education programs, we have conducted a series of short interviews with directors and…

Physics program for girls (PPG) is a two-week program held every summer since 2006, with the goal of engaging young women in inquiry-based physics experiments and to connect them with female science, technology, engineering, and mathematics professional role models. The program recruits young women to participate the summer after they have taken…

Since 2017 the Italian Space Agency (ASI) participates to so-called 'Alternanza Scuola-Lavoro' (i.e. 'school-work synergy') outreach projects promoted by the Italian government, and the ASI Space Science Data Center (SSDC) actively contributes to them, with the primary aim of bringing students closer to space-related activities before choosing…