2024 Newsletter

From the GPER Chair

By: Jackie Chini (she/her, 2024 GPER Executive Committee Chair)

Jackie Chini

GPER has continued to strengthen our integration into the larger APS community. 

In October, the APS Council reviewed and renewed the statement on research in physics education. GPER members may find this statement useful in conversations about how physics education research aligns with the broader physics community. 

Towards the goal of “the continued integration of physics education research into physics departments, journals, conferences and other physics spaces”, GPER and the Physical Review Physics Education Research editors successfully petitioned for physics education research to be explicitly listed as a subfield within the scope of the APS Journal Portfolio, visibly signaling the potential for inclusion of physics education research in journals such as Physical Review Letters, Physical Review X, and Physical Review Research.  

This year, we lost several physics education research community members, including recent GPER Secretary/Treasurer, Stephanie Chasteen.Stephanie served as the Secretary/Treasurer of the GPER executive committee from 2020-2022. In addition to her extraordinary contributions to PER, we are forever indebted to her service to GPER.  Her organizational brilliance lives on in the structures she created that make our work in GPER efficient and easy, and she is dearly missed. Stephanie was awarded with GPER Fellowship shortly before her passing on November 3rd, 2024. 

Memorial events for Edward “Joe” Redish and Alan Van Hueveln are being planned by close collaborators and family in conjunction with the 2025 American Association of Physics Teachers Summer Meeting. 

For four years, the GPER executive committee has had the pleasure of working with Laurie McNeil as our liaison to the APS Council. As her term on the Council wraps up, we are grateful for the breadth and depth of knowledge Laurie has shared with us that has supported our integration into the broader APS community. Our next Council liaison has big shoes to fill!

Finally, the 2025 APS Global Physics Summit will host the largest slate of GPER talks to date, including two full sessions of invited talks, and the 20th anniversary of Physical Review Physics Education Research. I hope to see many of you in Anaheim!

Jackie Chini

GPER Executive Committee Chair



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Welcome to new GPER officers Mac, Vashti, and Meagan!

By: Jennifer Blue, GPER Past Chair and Nominating Committee Chair

MacKenzie Stetzer

MacKenzie Stetzer
Vice Chair

Vashti Sawtelle

Vashti Sawtelle
Member-at-Large

Meagan Sundstrom

Meagan Sundstrom
Early Career Member-at-Large

We are excited to announce that MacKenzie Stetzer, Vashti Sawtelle, and Meagan Sundstrom will join the GPER Executive Committee in January 2025.

Dr. MacKenzie Stetzer will serve a 4-year term in the chair line.  Mac is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Maine.  His research currently focuses on student reasoning and metacognition in physics – particularly the role that human reasoning and decision-making plays when students respond to qualitative physics questions.   Other interests include examining student learning in analog electronics courses, supporting STEM students through the transition from high school to college, and the professional development of STEM instructors at all levels.

Dr. Vashti Sawtelle will serve a 2-year term as a member-at-large. Vashti is a jointly appointed Associate Professor of Physics in the Lyman Briggs College and in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at Michigan State University. She studies how learning environments support (or inhibit) students from diverse backgrounds in learning physics. As part of the leadership of the Physics Education Research Lab at Michigan State University, she plays an active role in mentoring undergraduate and graduate students in PER, as well as working alongside other scholars in the field.

Dr. Meagan Sundstrom  will serve a 2-year term as an early-career member-at-large. Currently, Meagan is a postdoctoral researcher at Drexel University working with Drs. Eric Brewe and Adrienne Traxler. Their project involves collecting network surveys, classroom observations, and conceptual inventory data from over 30 institutions to better characterize the different active learning pedagogies used to teach undergraduate physics.

 

This year, 21% of eligible GPER members cast their vote in the election.  We thank all of you who participated.

We also express our gratitude to the GPER members who agreed to run for GPER positions this fall but were not elected. The vibrancy of our community is largely dependent on the dedication and commitment of those who are willing to serve it. We urge more members to consider serving in the future when opportunities arise. If you are interested in running for the GPER Executive Committee in fall 2025, we welcome self-nominations. For more information, please contact Jackie Chini at chini.3@osu.edu.


Thank you to GPER officers with terms ending in 2024! 

We thank Jennifer Blue, who is finishing her four-year term in the GPER Chair Line, and Eric Kuo, who is finishing his two-year term as a Member-at-Large.



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GPER at the 2025 APS Global Physics Summit

By: Michael Loverude, GPER Vice Chair, and Natasha Holmes, GPER Chair-Elect


For several years GPER has participated in the April APS meeting. In 2025, however, APS has combined the March and April meetings to create the Global Physics Summit, which will be held in Anaheim, CA March 16-21, 2025. In addition to the in-person event, some sessions will be livestreamed and there will be a virtual session. Since this Summit takes place in 2025, the International Year of the Quantum, you will notice a number of sessions related to the teaching and learning of quantum topics. 2025 also marks the 20th anniversary of Physical Review Physics Education Research, which we will also celebrate at the meeting.

GPER’s presence has been growing dramatically in recent years. From only 5 contributed abstracts in 2022, we increased to 55 in 2023, and 62 in 2024. For the 2025 meeting, there will be an astonishing 105 contributed talks, making GPER a significant presence in the April portion of the joint meeting. This growth has been possible through efforts of recent GPER leadership and the overwhelming response of the PER community. Bravo to all who are participating in 2025, and thanks to the community for embracing this venue for scholarly discussions of our research! One challenge going forward is that there must now be slots with multiple GPER-sponsored sessions in parallel, not to mention sessions of potential interest offered by other topical groups and fora.

Due to our growth, GPER has increased its allotment from one invited session to two. The invited session on Research in Quantum Mechanics Instruction includes Philipp Bitzenbauer, University of Leipzig; Victoria Borish, Colorado School of Mines; and our 2023 APS Fellow from GPER, John Thompson, University of Maine. This session will also be livestreamed, allowing virtual attendees to join in the discussion and celebration. Our other invited session celebrates a milestone for our flagship journal: Twenty Years of Physical Review Physics Education Research. Speakers include editor Charles Henderson, Western Michigan University; Tor Ole Odden, University of Oslo; and Meagan Sundstrom, Drexel University. This milestone will also be featured at a reception: Celebrating 20 Years of Physical Review PER, on Wednesday.

There will be five mini-symposia; each includes one invited talk and up to six contributed talks. The 2025 mini-symposia will cover a range of topics including celebrating contributions to the PRPER Focused Collection on Quantum Mechanics Instruction and a session co-sponsored with the Forum on Education (FEd) about new research on validating education assessments. 

In addition to the scientific sessions, the meeting will feature several other events for the GPER community and interested colleagues. There will be focused discussion sessions led by community members on topics of interest, including a A Gathering of PER Students hosted by PERCoGS and a PER Discussion on Quantum Mechanics Teaching and Learning.  Also, don’t miss the reception Wednesday at 7 pm, hosted by the APS Program in Education, which will include the recognition of 2024 APS Fellows from GPER, Dr. Vashti Sawtelle, Michigan State University, and Dr. Stephanie Chasteen, Chasteen Educational Consulting as well as a reception celebrating the 20th anniversary of PRPER on Wednesday at 5 pm.  The community is also warmly invited to the GPER business meeting Tuesday at 6:15 pm, in which we highlight GPER activities and provide opportunities for members to give feedback. The full program is available now. We eagerly look forward to seeing many of you in person in Anaheim!

 

Due to the changed schedule, planning and abstract submission took place earlier than had been the case in recent years. If you missed the new deadlines, it’s never too early to start planning for what will be another joint APS meeting in 2026, to be held in Denver, CO March 16-20.



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Welcome new GPER members! Please help us continue to grow.

By: Ben Zwickl, GPER Secretary/Treasurer

The presence of GPER within APS continues to grow in number as does our visibility within APS conferences. Together, we are advancing PER as a sub-discipline of physics and promoting and disseminating PER within the wider physics community. In 2024, GPER saw an increase of 81 members (11%) to a new high of 814 GPER members. 

To maintain our growth and impact:

  • Encourage students to join GPER and PERCoGS, especially if they present at the APS April Meeting or Global Physics Summit.

  • Continue to renew your GPER membership.

Please see more information about benefits of GPER membership here.




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Announcing GPER’s 2024 Fellows

By: Natasha Holmes and Michael Loverude, GPER Chair-Elect and Vice Chair

Each year, the American Physical Society awards Fellowship to no more than 0.5% of non-student members. The Topical Group on Physics Education Research (GPER) is proud to announce our 2024 APS Fellows:

Vashti SawtelleVashti Sawtelle, Michigan State University, “For foundational research on self-efficacy, introductory physics for life sciences, and community college students to support persistence, broaden participation, and promote engagement among all physics students; and for enduring contributions to the critical, rigorous use of qualitative methods.”





Stephanie ChasteenStephanie Chasteen, Chasteen Educational Consulting, “For significant contributions to the physics education research community including groundbreaking research on departmental change efforts and teaching upper-division physics courses, evaluation and support of myriad research projects and dissemination programs, and outstanding service to GPER.”








The fellows will be celebrated at the upcoming APS Global Physics Summit in Anaheim, CA. 

Browse all APS Fellows and their full citations here (filter by the nominating unit of GPER to see only GPER Fellows). The GPER Executive Committee and GPER APS Fellowship committee have also created a set of guidelines to support nominators in preparing successful fellowship nominations. The next round of nominations will be due April 1, 2025 – please consider nominating your colleagues! 

The committee was chaired by Natasha Holmes and vice-chaired by Michael Loverude. Many thanks to the fellowship committee members: Catherine Crouch, Andrew Heckler, Eric Kuo, and Homeyra Sadaghiani. 



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GPER Mini-Grants Program Updates

By: Eric Kuo and Homeyra Sadaghiani, GPER Members-at-Large 

    GPER members have the opportunity to apply for GPER mini-grants, which provide modest financial support. There are four strands:

    • Strand 1: Conference Support strand  ($3500 budget, typical award = $1,000 for domestic travel, $1500 for international travel). This strand supports the proposer’s commitments to a conference to share physics education research findings with the physics community (e.g., travel, registration costs, workshop costs, poster printing, etc.). All conferences will be considered; however, the APS April conference will be prioritized. Preference will be given to GPER members who have limited conference resources (e.g., students without grant funding, faculty at two-year colleges and/or minority-serving institutions, adjunct faculty) and junior researchers.

    • Strand 2: Emergency Support strand ($1000 budget, maximum award = $500). This strand is to “support individual members who are facing unanticipated financial challenges.” Our guidelines for what qualifies as an emergency are based on the APS National Mentoring Community (NMC) Bringing Emergency Aid to Mentees (BEAM) Fund guidelines.

    • Strand 3: Conference Organizer strand ($1000 budget). This strand’s purpose is “to support successful organization of PER-focused conferences, and the development of early-career PER researchers at such conferences.” The intent is to help conference and session organizers defray the costs with these endeavors.

    • Strand 4: Journal Publication Fee strand ($1000 budget, maximum award = $500). This strand “supports proposers in paying the journal publication fee for publishing physics education research articles in American Physical Society journals.” The intent is to help defray the costs of publishing PER in APS journals.

    This year we made some changes to the Mini-Grants program to better serve the GPER membership. Strand 4 was added to further provide financial resources for GPER members with limited/no funding to publish their research. 

    This year, we received 3 eligible applications for Conference Support ($1,000 each for travel to the 2025 APS Joint Meeting), 1 application for Conference Organizer Support ($600 to co-fund a workshop at the 2025 APS Joint Meeting, with FEd and FDI), 1 application for Emergency Support ($500), and 1 application for Journal Publication Fee Support ($500).  All of these applications were funded, totalling $4,600. 

    The 2024 Mini-Grants Reviewing Committee was chaired by Eric Kuo (University of Illinois, senior GPER Member-at-Large). Committee members are Homeyra Sadaghiani (California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, junior GPER Member-at-Large), Brianne Gutmann (San Jose State University), and Andi Piña (Rochester Institute of Technology).

    Looking ahead, applications for the Conference Support strands will be due in September 2025, in anticipation of the abstract submission deadline for the 2026 APS Joint March/April Meeting. Applications for the Emergency Support, Conference Organizer Support, and Journal Publication Fee strands are rolling and are reviewed monthly. More information on the mini-grants is available here.



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    GPER Budget

    By: Ben Zwickl, GPER Secretary/Treasurer

    This update is based on the most recent available budget report from APS on 11/30/2024. GPER income is primarily from membership dues, which were $3,765 in 2024, up $30 from the previous year. Because of strong GPER conference attendance, our share of meeting revenue was $1,107, which was $37 less than 2023. Additional revenue from APS investments was $385. 

    In 2024, GPER spent $3,000 in Travel Grants for the APS April Meeting, $500 for a PRPER publication mini-grant, and $500 for an emergency support grant (not reflected in the expenses YTD). Our 2024 budget plan increased the amount of grant support, including $1,000 for PRPER support, $1,000 in invited speaker support (for attracting speakers who would not typically attend APS meetings), and $1,000 support for international invited speakers. The 2024 budget expenses are largely reflected in 2025 spending because several of the mini-grants are awarded in late 2024 and not paid out until the following year after the April Meeting. In summary:

    • Income YTD: $5,257
    • Expenses YTD: $3,521
    • Current assets: $17,301



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    A Message from the New Physical Review Physics Education Research Chief Editor - Dr. Eric Brewe

    By: Eric Brewe, Incoming Chief Editor, Physical Review Physics Education Research

    Overwhelmingly, I am excited and humbled to serve as the next Chief Editor for PRPER. Two things have made an impression on me during the first few weeks on the job. First, the journal is in very strong shape. We have a robust number of manuscripts coming in and a strong editorial team with Ana Sušac and Paula Heron and the Editorial Board. Second, we owe Charles a strong thank you for his 12 years of service. He managed a substantial growth in the journal which in turn has helped our field. Please join me in thanking Charles. 

    My time as Chief Editor will include some changes. We are going to be growing the team by hiring Associate Editors, so be on the lookout for the forthcoming job ad. Our long time managing editor, Debbie Brodbar has retired, so there are going to be new processes and procedures which may not impact you as authors, but certainly will represent changes behind the scenes. I would extend thanks to Debbie, whom I believe has read more PER articles than anyone!   

    We have exciting focused collections coming out this year: Investigating and Improving Quantum Education through Research; and Artificial Intelligence Tools in Physics Teaching and Physics Education Research. Please read the articles, and if when asked we would love it if you could agree to review manuscripts! Together, we will keep the journal strong. 



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    Physical Review Physics Education Research (PRPER) Update

    By: Charles Henderson, Outgoing Chief Editor, Physical Review Physics Education Research 

    Journal Staff and Editorial Board

    Staff

    • Eric Brewe, Chief Editor

    • Charles Henderson, Consulting Editor

    • Saalih Allie, Associate Editor

    • Paula Heron, Associate Editor

    • Ana Sušac, Associate Editor

    • Maria Poko, Senior Editorial Assistant

    Editorial board

    • Term ending 31 December 2025

      • Jacquelyn Chini, The Ohio State University, USA

      • Lin Ding, The Ohio State University, USA

      • Italo Testa, Monte S. Angelo University Federico II, Italy

    • Term ending 30 June 2027

      • Mila Kryjevskaia, North Dakota State University, USA

      • Adrienne Traxler, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

      • Stefan Küchemann, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany

    Thank you for 12 Years as Chief Editor!

    I started as Chief Editor (then called Lead Editor) of PRPER in April 2012, succeeding our founding Editor, Dr. Bob Beichner. After 12 years, it is time to pass the torch to a new Chief Editor. As noted below, APS has conducted an international search and appointed Dr. Eric Brewe as the Chief Editor effective January 1, 2025. I will stay on until March 2025 as a Consulting Editor.

    Thank you for trusting me in this important role for the past 12 years. In many ways, what is published in PRPER defines the field of PER. I see the role of Chief Editor not as a gatekeeper of the field, but rather as supporting new and innovative work that propels our field forward. Deciding what to publish and what not to publish is not always easy, and I have been fortunate to work with many fantastic Associate Editors and Editorial Board members over the years. Having smart and thoughtful people to turn to for advice has been essential.  

    I am pleased to leave the journal in excellent standing. During my tenure, we have experienced significant growth, with submissions more than doubling and our impact factor nearly doubling as well. The introduction of Focused Collections in 2014 has been a notable enhancement, resulting in the successful publication or ongoing activity of 10 collections. In the last few years, the Statistical Modeling Review Committee, under the leadership of Dr. Tim Stelzer, has significantly contributed to improving the quality of statistical methods in our published articles. 

    As I step away from this position, I am confident that PRPER is poised for continued success. The incoming leadership of Dr. Brewe will undoubtedly bring fresh perspectives and energy to guide the journal in exciting new ways. I look forward to seeing how PRPER continues to evolve and thrive in the years to come.

    Although I am stepping down as Chief Editor, I remain deeply committed to supporting the continued growth of PER and look forward to supporting the community in new ways. Thank you for the trust and support you have shown me throughout this journey. 

    Welcome to new Chief Editor, Eric Brewe

    I am pleased to announce that Dr. Eric Brewe has been selected as the next Chief Editor of Physical Review Physics Education Research. The search committee included Natasha Holmes, Maja Planinic, Eugenia Ektina, Randy Kamien (APS EiC), Juan-Jose Liétor Santos (Chief Editor of Physical Review Research), and Jessica Thomas (Executive Editor). His term began on Jan 1, 2025.

    Dr. Brewe is a Professor in Physics and Science Education at Drexel University. He has previously held faculty appointments at Hawaii Pacific University and Florida International University. Dr. Brewe has received significant external funding for his research into the teaching and learning of physics at the university level. This includes developing curriculum for Modeling Instruction, inquiries into the role of Modeling Instruction in promoting student learning, participation, retention and persistence, and enhanced attitudes toward science and equity. This research has led to describing the role of participation in learning using primarily quantitative measures including the use of Network Analyses, FMRI, and recently applications of machine learning and natural language processing.

    As an Associate Editor since 2023, Dr. Brewe has gained valuable hands-on experience managing cases at every stage of the peer-review process. Before that, he served as an Editorial Board Member from 2017–2019 and as a guest editor for PRPER’s focused collection on Gender in Physics. Dr. Brewe is also an APS Fellow and the founding Chair of the APS Topical Group in Physics Education Research (GPER). I am confident that the Journal is in good hands!

    Welcome to new Associate Editor, Ana Sušac

    Dr. Ana Sušac is an Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. She is a frequent publisher and referee for PRPER and has recently completed a three-year term on the PRPER Editorial Board.

    Alongside her brain research studies using neuroimaging methods, she is actively involved in physics education research. Dr. Sušac studies conceptual understanding of physics at the high school and university levels, scientific reasoning, and the role of mathematics in physics teaching and learning. In addition to standard methods in physics education research, she extensively uses eye tracking to gain deeper insights into students’ cognitive processes.

    Submissions and Acceptance rate 

    268 articles were submitted to the journal in 2023, the highest ever! The current acceptance rate is 40% (3-year average). The mean time from submission to acceptance for manuscripts submitted in 2023 was 168 days.

    Impact Factor

    The average impact factor for the last three years is 2.7. The 2023 impact factor was 2.6. This is the second highest ever for this journal and quite strong for an education research journal. 

    PRPER Coverage in Physics

    Three PRPER articles were covered in Physics since the last GPER newsletter. Physics is a free, online magazine from the American Physical Society that reports on papers from the Physical Review journals, focusing on results that will change the course of research, inspire a new way of thinking, or spark curiosity.

    1. September 12, 2024, Physics 17, 121. Coverage of “How women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer physics doctoral students navigate graduate education: The roles of professional environments and social networks,” by Justin A. Gutzwa, Ramón S. Barthelemy, Camila Amaral, Madison Swirtz, Adrienne Traxler, and Charles Henderson, Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 020115 (2024).

    2. May 7, 2024, Physics 17, 76. Coverage of “Physics Ph.D. student perspectives on the importance and difficulty of finding a research group,” by Mike Verostek, Casey W. Miller, and Benjamin M. Zwickl, Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010136 (2024).

    3. February 29, 2024, Physics 17, 36. Coverage of “Diverging nonlocal fields: Operationalizing critical disability physics identity with neurodivergent physicists outside academia,” by Liam G. McDermott, Nazeer A. Mosley, and Geraldine L. Cochran, Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 20, 010111 (2024).



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    Report Available from the PRPER Review Committee

    By Eugenia Etkina, PERLOC representative on GPER

    In the Spring of 2023, the APS Committee on Scientific Publications (CSP) commissioned a review of Physical Review Physics Education Research (PRPER). The CSP appointed the following members to the review committee:

    • Edmund Bertschinger - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA

    • Eugenia Etkina - Rutgers University, USA

    • Katemari Rosa - Federal University of Bahia, Brazil

    • Stamatis Vokos - California Polytechnic State University, USA

     

    The charge of the committee was to produce an evaluation report with recommendations on how to improve the journal. Such committees are a regular practice of the APS. The previous review was conducted in 2005. 

    At the end of Summer 2023, the committee sent out a survey for the community regarding their use of the journal and their recommendations for improvement. Over 350 people responded to the survey. In addition, the committee interviewed the Editor of the journal, all associate editors, journal staff, and several readers/reviewers of the journal. These quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed and synthesized to produce a report. The review committee would like to thank all of the PER community members who donated their time responding to the survey and participating in the interviews.

    Read the report here: https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=16783



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    2024 Newsletter

    In This Issue