Several prior studies in introductory physics have found a gender gap, i.e., a difference between male and female students' performance on conceptual assessments such as the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) and the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM) with male students performing better than female students. Moreover, prior studies…

We present the Electricity and Magnetism Conceptual Assessment (EMCA), a new assessment aligned with second-semester introductory physics courses. Topics covered include electrostatics, electric fields, circuits, magnetism, and induction. We have two motives for writing a new assessment. First, we find other assessments such as the Brief…

The increasing use of interactive learning [IL] strategies in Astro 101 classrooms has led some instructors to consider the usefulness of a textbook in such classes. These strategies provide students a learning modality very different from the traditional lecture supplemented by reading a textbook and homework and raise the question of whether the…

In this paper, we describe how simple experiments realizable by using easily found and low-cost materials allow students to explore quantitatively the magnetic interaction thanks to the help of an Open Source Physics tool, the Tracker Video Analysis software. The static equilibrium of a "column" of permanents magnets is carefully investigated by…

A thematic course called "Climate Change: Chemistry and Controversy" was developed for upper-level non-STEM students. This course used the socioscientific context of climate change to teach chemical principles and the nature of science. Students used principles of agnotology (direct study of misinformation) to debunk climate change…