Short papers in Physical Review Physics Education Research (PRPER) were originally intended for articles that either extended a previous work (by the authors or someone else) or were initial results from a larger effort that were interesting enough to merit this type of publication.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has increasingly found its way into more and more areas of our lives, including education. This focused collection aims to address opportunities, challenges, and issues around the use of a broad variety of AI tools in physics education and physics education research.

In the year 2025, we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the formulation and development of quantum theory. The United Nations is working toward a declaration of 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQST). In the spring of 2025, Physical Review Physics Education Research (PRPER) will join the celebration by rolling out a special issue of the journal focused on investigating and improving quantum education.

Dr. Eric Brewe is a Professor in Physics and Science Education at Drexel University. Much of his research into the teaching and learning of physics at the university level is focused on the Modeling Instruction method. Dr. Brewe publishes frequently in PRPER and has received significant external funding to support his research. He is an APS Fellow and has served as Chair of the APS Education Policy Committee and Chair of the APS Topical Group on Physics Education Research.

A small fraction of institutions are responsible for the undergraduate education of a disproportionate number of U.S. physics faculty.

Introductory physics students do not develop a robust understanding of Ampere-Maxwell’s law through typical physics instruction.

Photovoice methodology can provide insights into student experiences and perspectives that may not be captured through traditional reflection questions.

Regular instruction is not sufficient to help secondary students develop a good understanding of the apparent motion of the Sun and stars.

APS congratulates Paula Heron, Associate Editor of PRPER and Professor of Physics at University of Washington, for winning the 2021 ICPE Medal for PER research. The full announcement from IUPAP is available online.

APS has selected 156 Outstanding Referees for 2024 who have demonstrated exceptional work in the assessment of manuscripts published in the Physical Review journals. A full list of the Outstanding Referees is available online.

In the following special collection from Physical Review Physics Education Research, authors examine and highlight racial diversity, specifically how Black physicists and people of color navigate within the physics community at large.

Lead Editor, Charles Henderson, announces PRPER’s development of the Statistical Modeling Review Committee (SMRC) to help support high-quality statistical modeling techniques.

PRPER Lead Editor, Charles Henderson, and APS Editor in Chief, Michael Thoennessen, discuss the vital importance of offering an inclusive and welcoming environment to the physics community.

Physics is an experimental science. Instructional laboratories where students conduct experiments, analyze data, arrive at conclusions, and communicate findings have been around for over a century. Every physics department has labs of different levels: from introductory to advanced, for majors and nonmajors, with real equipment or virtual.

Physics Education Research (PER) uses various research methods classified under qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. These approaches help researchers understand physics education phenomena and advance our efforts to produce better PER. Over time, research questions and contexts have evolved, and so have our methods. We understand it has come the time for PER scholars to examine qualitative methods in our field critically. Therefore, we urge you to contribute to the Focused Collection on Qualitative Methods in PER.

This Physical Review Physics Education Research (PRPER) Focused Collection was curated to bring to light curriculum design decisions and the factors that shape them. By making decisions about design explicit, we can better understand the contexts behind our research claims, hold curricula up to informed critique, and support new scholars as they undertake curriculum development.