Yajun Wei

Physics demonstrations are celebrated for enlivening lectures and anchoring understanding, yet remarkably little is known about how the choice of demonstration materials, namely, familiar household objects versus specialized laboratory equipment, may shape students’ affective evaluations. A total of 288 secondary and college students observed two resonance demonstrations—one using wine glasses as everyday focal objects and one using tuning forks as laboratory focal objects—and completed a survey requesting an overall preference (household/lab/no preference) and Likert ratings on seven perception items for each demonstration. Demonstration order was counterbalanced across class sessions to guard against sequence effects. Overall, students far more often preferred the wine-glass demonstration (58.3%) over the tuning-fork demonstration (14.9%), with 26.7% reporting no strong preference; this preference pattern was consistent across both secondary and college students and did not differ significantly between male and female students. Preference distributions were also independent of presentation order. Paired comparisons showed that the household demonstration was rated significantly higher in interestingness, novelty, relevance to daily life, and its ability to stimulate interest in science. Importantly, clarity of the phenomenon and self-reported support for understanding resonance did not differ significantly between the two demonstrations, supporting the interpretation that the preference for the household condition is not attributable to the phenomenon being easier to observe or the concept easier to grasp. The results are theoretically grounded in cognitive load and situated cognition frameworks to explain how material-based contextualization may enhance student engagement without increasing perceived cognitive burden. These findings suggest that a seemingly simple instructional design choice, i.e., using a recognizable household object as the focal material in a physics demonstration, can meaningfully enhance student engagement and perceived relevance without sacrificing conceptual clarity.

Physics education research (PER) has shown substantial growth in recent years, yet comprehensive reviews mapping the field’s overall trajectory remain scarce. The leading journal, (PRPER), has been a cornerstone of the discipline since its launch in 2005. Marking its 20th anniversary, this study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of PRPER publications from July 2005 to June 2025. Using data extracted from the Web of Science and Scopus, this study examines key indicators, including publication/citation trends, contributor demographics, prolific author characteristics, and collaborations, alongside the field’s intellectual structures and their evolution. The results reveal sustained growth in publication volume and a concentration of authorship within U.S.-based institutions. The analysis finds that PRPER publications group well into seven major research clusters: Understanding and Supporting Student Learning; Identity and Equity; Conceptual Inventory; Physics Laboratory; Physics Problem Solving; Attitude and Epistemology; and Quantum Physics Education. Notably, Quantum Physics Education emerges in this analysis as one of the seven distinct major research clusters identified through bibliographic coupling. Timeline analysis reveals a shift in thematic emphasis from foundational work on conceptual assessment toward increasing focus on identity, equity, and quantum education. This bibliometric overview not only traces the intellectual trajectory of PRPER but also offers insights into the broader evolution of PER, highlighting existing gaps, such as the need to integrate equity research into quantum education, and suggesting future directions for the field.

Science textbooks often include text and diagrams to aid learner understanding. Yet traditional written instructions in textbooks often separate them, which can increase cognitive load and hinder effective learning. This research proposes and tests a novel presentational format for written instruction that incorporates spatial contiguity, numbered reading sequences, and color matching, aiming to enhance science learning. The effectiveness of the novel format was assessed through two randomized experimental studies. The first study involved 349 high school students in a popular science context, and the second included 187 students in a complex physics course. The results revealed statistically significant improvements in students’ learning outcomes and self-perceived understanding when exposed to the novel instructional format. The improvements were particularly notable in the study focused on complex scientific laws in physics. Furthermore, students reported lower levels of mental effort with the novel format compared to traditional formats, particularly in contexts involving more challenging materials. These results align with cognitive load theory in multimedia learning. The novel presentational format can significantly enhance student learning outcomes and understanding level. It offers a practical and more efficient alternative for instructional material design.

Embedding physics problems in real-world settings—here termed contextualized physics problems (CPPs)—is widely believed to foster students’ interest, motivation, and learning. However, firm evidence for this claim remains scarce. To explore this issue, we surveyed 868 secondary students and 154 teachers to examine their attitudes toward CPP and investigate whether students and teachers perceive these problems as promoting student interest and motivation in learning physics. The findings reveal a divergence between teacher and student perspectives. While most teachers view CPP as essential for enhancing interest and motivation, student responses tell a different story. Contextualized problems appear to boost interest and motivation only among 8th graders who are newly introduced to the subject. From 9th to 11th grade, students expressed a clear preference for decontextualized physics problems and generally disagreed that CPP increased their interest in physics. Gender differences were also observed among younger students, with boys showing a moderately stronger preference for CPP than girls. These results provide valuable insights for educators in designing course materials and creating effective test and exercise questions. The discrepancy between teacher and student perceptions, as highlighted by the surveys and interviews, underscores the need to address this gap through targeted teacher training and professional development.

Embedding physics problems unreal-world settings, here termed contextualized physics problems (CPP), is widely believed to foster students' interest, motivation, and learning. However, firm evidence for this claim remains scarce. To explore this issue, we surveyed 868 secondary students and 154 teachers to examine their attitudes toward CPP and investigate whether students and teachers perceive these problems as promoting student interest and motivation in learning physics. The findings reveal a divergence between teacher and student perspectives. While most teachers view CPP as essential for enhancing interest and motivation, student responses tell a different story. Contextualized problems appear to boost interest and motivation only among 8th graders who are newly introduced to the subject. From 9th to 11th grade, students expressed a clear preference for de-contextualized physics problems (DPP) and generally disagreed that CPP increased their interest in physics. Gender differences were also observed among younger students, with boys showing a moderately stronger preference for CPP than girls. These results provide valuable insights for educators in designing course materials and creating effective test and exercise questions. The discrepancy between teacher and student perceptions, as highlighted by the surveys and interviews, underscores the need to address this gap through targeted teacher training and professional development.

Video instruction has been widely studied and is generally considered as effective as live instruction for teaching scientific concepts and procedures. However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of prerecorded videos for teaching more challenging content. This study conducted a controlled experiment on over 300 high school students to compare the effectiveness of live instruction versus recorded video in teaching physics problem solving, a representative example of challenging content. Our results indicate that for simpler problems, there is no significant difference in student learning outcomes between live and video instruction, corroborating previous research. However, as problem complexity increases, live instruction significantly outperforms video instruction, potentially highlighting the importance of real-time adaptability, engagement, and sustained attention in face-to-face settings. We found a negative correlation between the effectiveness of video instruction and the difficulty level of the content. This study is the first to empirically investigate the use of video instruction for complex problem solving, making a significant contribution to the current body of literature. Additionally, the findings offer practical insights for school administrators or department heads, suggesting that while video instruction can effectively substitute for live teaching in simpler scenarios, live instruction remains crucial for more complex material, impacting decisions related to human resource allocation and instructional planning.