There is currently little physics education literature examining thinking and learning in graduate education and even less literature characterizing problem solving among physics graduate students despite this being an essential professional skill for physicists. Given reports of discrepancies between physics problem solving in the undergraduate…

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is an emerging technology that creates relevant text, images and other content from prompts. Large Language models (LLMs) are the most widely used of these GenAI forms. This technology already has applications in business and education. This paper tests GenAI's ability to apply physics to global problems…

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…

In the context of physics education, it is imperative that educators prioritize the development of students' problem-solving abilities. Given the interdisciplinary nature of physics and its relevance to everyday life, students must possess robust problem-solving skills. However, conventional and uninspiring learning approaches have been shown to…

This case study used individual interviews to investigate graduate students' sensemaking in upper-level electrostatics in the context of problems that can be efficiently solved for the electric potential using Laplace's equation. Although there are many technical mathematical issues involved in solving Laplace's equation, the focus of this…

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…

Embodied forms of representation like gesture have been shown to play an important role in how learners conceptualize phenomena in physics; however, we know little about how students use gesture to capture the idea of "instantaneity." Drawing on multimodal microanalysis of interaction, we examine how undergraduate physics students use…

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…

Undergraduate science students face difficulties using mathematics in their physics courses. Choosing an institutional perspective, we consider that these students experience a permanent transition between mathematics in their mathematics courses and mathematics in their physics courses. We refer to the anthropological theory of the didactic and…

Students' success in physics problem-solving extends beyond conceptual knowledge of physics, relying significantly on their mathematics skills. Understanding the specific contributions of different mathematics skills to physics problem-solving can offer valuable insights for enhancing physics education. Yet such studies are rare, particularly at…

Classroom observation is a critical tool for evaluating instructional strategies and their impact on student learning outcomes. This study investigates how implementing systematic problem-solving strategies affects teaching practices, classroom dynamics, and student engagement in Rwandan secondary school physics classrooms. A quasi-experimental…

Purpose: This study aims to examine the perceptions of students about learning science and physics using the engineering design process (EDP). Design/methodology/approach: The study employed a mixed-methods research design: The quantitative session features a pre-post-test control group study. In the qualitative aspect, the study conducted…

The Physics One Mechanics in a community college syllabus usually allocates more time to cover the topics in kinematics, dynamics, energy, momentum, and rotation; with relatively less time for the topics of fluid mechanics and heat diffusion in the creation of a knowledge gap for those students deciding on mechanical and chemical engineering…

Prospective physics teachers must have research skills because they will later utilize and transfer these skills throughout their teaching careers. However, research shows that students' research skills, including in Indonesia, are still low. In addition to equipping students with theoretical research knowledge, an emphasis is needed on the…

Peers play an important role in an individual's learning via collaboration. This study examined three semesters worth of student data collected through collaborative exams in a calculus-based introductory physics course. Participants were asked 142 physics problems over two rounds, and they answered the problems first individually (first round)…