Examining teaching practices in university physics is crucial for addressing the lack of student achievement in and engagement with the subject. Research-based instructional strategies (RBIS) offer evidence-based methods to enhance student erengagement and learning outcomes, but face adoption challenges due to institutional, contextual, and…

A survey of 722 physics faculty conducted in 2008 found that many physics instructors had knowledge of research-based instructional strategies (RBISs), were interested in using more, but often discontinued use after trying. Considerable effort has been made during the decade following 2008 to develop and disseminate RBISs in physics as well as…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Instructional labs: Improving traditions and new directions.] Physics instructional labs have long been an area of pedagogical innovation and educational research. While current stakeholders in instructional labs are undoubtedly aware of the day's concerns, reform efforts, and empirical research…

Understanding measurement uncertainty is crucial in experimental physics, as it enables accurate and reliable measurements, facilitates comparison between measurements, and aids in designing experiments. Consequently, measurement uncertainty has emerged as a critical learning goal for many introductory physics labs. Here, we explore the impact of…

Much work in physics education research (PER) characterizes faculty teaching practice in terms of whether faculty use specific named PER-based teaching methods, either with fidelity or with adaptation; we call this research paradigm the "teaching-method-centered paradigm." However, most faculty do not frame their teaching in terms of…

In 2017 the University of Utah experienced a tragedy which catalyzed already active changes in the department. In the aftermath, admissions to the graduate program was paused while new policies were developed and implemented. This article outlines this change process through the perspectives and accounts of those involved. Through in-depth…

Physics inquiry can be interpreted as the construction of a cogent argument in which students apply inquiry knowledge and knowledge of physics to the systematic collection of relevant, valid, and reliable data, creating optimal scientific support for a conclusion that answers the research question. In learning how to devise, conduct and evaluate a…

Effective faculty professional development must be participant centered; tailored to the needs and interests of the faculty who engage in it. In order to better understand those needs and interests, we investigate how knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and teaching practice vary among new physics faculty, using surveys of a large sample (n = 442) of…

The existence of gender differences in student performance on conceptual assessments and their responses to attitudinal assessments has been repeatedly demonstrated. This difference is often present in students' preinstruction responses and persists in their postinstruction responses. However, one area in which the presence of gender differences…

In order to promote sustained and impactful educational transformation, it is essential for change agents to understand more about faculty perceptions associated with either adopting or not adopting a research-based instructional strategy (RBIS). In this paper, we use interviews with 35 physics faculty to examine barriers and affordances to the…

Developing critical thinking skills is a common goal of an undergraduate physics curriculum. How do students make sense of evidence and what do they do with it? In this study, we evaluated students' critical thinking behaviors through their written notebooks in an introductory physics laboratory course. We compared student behaviors in the…

While many innovative teaching strategies exist, integration into undergraduate science teaching has been frustratingly slow. This study aims to understand the low uptake of research-based instructional innovations by studying 21 successful implementations of the Student Centered Active Learning with Upside-down Pedagogies (SCALE-UP) instructional…

To help faculty use research-based materials in a more significant way, we learn about their perceived needs and desires and use this information to suggest ways for the physics education research community to address these needs. When research-based resources are well aligned with the perceived needs of faculty, faculty members will more readily…