There has been an increased focus on the integration of practices into physics curricula, with a
particular emphasis on integrating computation into the undergraduate curriculum of scientists and
engineers. In this paper, we present a university-leve…

Ten years ago we started to develop a Collection of Fully Solved Problems aimed at introductory
undergraduate and high school level students. The collection is specially designed to encourage
students in an active approach to problem solving, e.g. to…

The analysis of spectra is fundamental to our modern understanding of wave optics and colour
perception. Since spectrometers are expensive, and accurate calibration is necessary to achieve high
quality spectra, we developed a remote lab on optical sp…

Ten years ago we started to develop a Collection of Fully Solved Problems aimed at introductory
undergraduate and high school level students. The collection is specially designed to encourage
students in an active approach to problem solving, e.g. to…

The analysis of spectra is fundamental to our modern understanding of wave optics and colour
perception. Since spectrometers are expensive, and accurate calibration is necessary to achieve high
quality spectra, we developed a remote lab on optical sp…

There has been an increased focus on the integration of practices into physics curricula, with a
particular emphasis on integrating computation into the undergraduate curriculum of scientists and
engineers. In this paper, we present a university-leve…

Frank Close is a Particle Physicist at Oxford University, where he is the Emeritus Professor of
Physics. He has written numerous books, where he brings a fresh and inspiring approach to the
subject. David Richardson asks him about his journey over th…

In my article (Featonby and Vitkoczi 2017 Phys. Educ . 52 037001) I asked what happens when a
carbonated drink can is placed on a concave ramp, and is any difference observed if the can is
shaken beforehand?

Description unavailable

A plastic container filled with water is balanced on a rod. What happens when an object is placed in
the water on one side of the container such that the water level rises and the consequent force
downwards increases?

Frank Close is a Particle Physicist at Oxford University, where he is the Emeritus Professor of
Physics. He has written numerous books, where he brings a fresh and inspiring approach to the
subject. David Richardson asks him about his journey over th…

In my article (Featonby and Vitkoczi 2017 Phys. Educ . 52 037001) I asked what happens when a
carbonated drink can is placed on a concave ramp, and is any difference observed if the can is
shaken beforehand?

Description unavailable

A plastic container filled with water is balanced on a rod. What happens when an object is placed in
the water on one side of the container such that the water level rises and the consequent force
downwards increases?

This note from the field reviews the sustainability of an institution-wide program for adopting and adapting open and alternative educational resources (OAER) at Kansas State University (K-State). Developed in consult of open textbook initiatives at other institutions and modified around the needs and expectations of K-State students and faculty, this initiative proposes a sustainable means of incentivizing faculty participation via institutional support, encouraging the creation and maintenance of OAER through recurring funding, promoting innovative realizations of “educational resources” beyond traditional textbooks, and rallying faculty participation in adopting increasingly open textbook alternatives. The history and resulting structure of the initiative raise certain recommendations for how public universities may sustainably offset student textbook costs while also empowering the pedagogies of educators via a more methodical approach to adopting open materials.

Open Educational Resources (OER) are gaining acceptance as legitimate and effective teaching materials in higher education, particularly in 2-year institutions.  Despite the steady growth in the availability and use of OER, there have been relatively few studies on the efficacy of OER and student achievement.  This study analyzed the effect enrollment in an OER course had on student academic achievement when controlling for prior academic achievement in an introductory online history course at a large community college. Correlation analysis and simple linear regression were conducted. The results of this research indicate a significant positive moderate correlation between OER and student achievement. The study provided a process by which future, more rigorous efficacy studies can be conducted.

As freely adoptable digital resources, OpenCourseWare (OCW) have become a prominent form of Open Educational Resources (OER). More than 275 institutions in the worldwide OCW consortium have committed to creating free access open course materials. Despite the resources and efforts to create OCW worldwide, little understanding of its use exists. This paper reports OCW project development at National Taiwan University (NTU) and investigates its use with Google Analytics. Reports include strategic plans to overcome challenges to OCW creation and implementation, the project’s growth and maturation, overall use of OCW, and possible future directions. As a result of its 5-year development and of lessons learned, the NTU-OCW experience features: (1) integrating resources on campus and established operating procedures, (2) setting course selection criteria featuring the strength of NTU and Taiwan, (3) providing coherent program support to enhance faculty participation, and (4) adhering strictly to the Creative Commons license. Data from Google Analytics was reviewed for better understanding of the use, characteristics, course preferences, and behaviors of NTU-OCW users. Results show visitors were primarily lifelong learners (65%) in informal learning settings. Statistics indicate an overall successful use of NTU-OCW for Chinese speaking users, especially in urban areas where information and communication technology is more developed. Potential impacts and future improvements are  discussed, including how to promote usage of OCW courses for on and off campus users, adding rating features and indexing for customizing search, and integrating OCW into the learning management system (LMS) as part of OER.

The high cost of tuition and textbooks can have a negative impact on potential students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Open Educational Resources (OER) offers students a way to save educational costs while utilizing high-quality open textbooks. Up until now, there have been few studies focused on a specific provider of open textbooks. This study investigates open textbooks provided by OpenStax. Specifically, this study uses the COUP framework to examine: (1) cost reduction, (2) outcomes, (3) uses, and (4) the faculty perceptions of the quality of OpenStax textbooks. Additionally, we expanded the framework to address (5) the relationship between the perceived quality of the OpenStax textbook and the faculty perception of student performance, (6) the faculty’s intention to continue to adopt OpenStax textbooks, and (7) the perceived importance of accessibility to faculty who use OpenStax textbooks. Overall, the findings suggest that a significant amount of financial savings and a number of pedagogical shifts can be supported by the use of OpenStax textbooks.

Using data collected from peer reviews for Open Textbook Library titles, this paper explores questions about rating the quality of open textbooks. The five research questions addressed the relationship between textbook and reviewer characteristics and ratings. Although reviewers gave textbooks high ratings generally, reviewers identified differences in quality according to criteria and discipline. Physics and chemistry textbooks earned significantly lower ratings than other textbook types. Ratings were not significantly associated with reviewers’ status and experience, but were associated with reviewers’ place of residence. We discuss the implications for OER efficacy studies and other research.

Unrelenting increases in the price of college textbooks have prompted the development and adoption of open textbooks, educational resources that are openly licensed and available to students free of cost. Although several studies have investigated U.S. students’ perceptions and use of open textbooks, there are no published studies of this kind in Canada. Similarly, although the negative impact of commercial textbook costs on student outcomes is well documented within the United States, it is unknown whether these trends generalize to the Canadian post-secondary context. The present study involves a survey of 320 post-secondary students in British Columbia enrolled in courses using an open textbook during the Spring 2015, Summer 2015, and Fall 2015 semesters. The survey investigates students’ textbook purchasing behaviours, including whether, where, and in what format(s) they purchase and access their required textbooks; the negative impact of textbook costs on their course enrolment, persistence, and performance; how they access and use their open textbook, including their format preferences and study habits; and their perceptions of their open textbook, including its quality and what features they like and dislike. The study’s strengths and limitations are discussed, along with recommendations for future research.

Assigning open textbooks in college and university courses can help students save money on increasingly expensive commercial textbooks, and recent research shows that this savings can often be achieved with little to no sacrifice in textbook quality or student learning outcomes. We add to this body of research by examining the use of an open textbook in an introductory physics course at a large research university in Canada that enrols approximately 800-900 students per year. In this course, the instructors revised an open textbook and combined it with other learning resources onto a single website, whereas more than one source of learning materials was used previously. We used the COUP framework to structure our analysis, focusing on cost, outcomes, use, and perceptions in relation to the open textbook assigned in the course. Through the use of a survey of students and data about student learning outcomes in the form of final exam and course grades, and shifts on the pre-/post- Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey, we show that student savings by moving to an open textbook were accompanied by little change in learning outcomes. We also show that the vast majority of survey respondents perceived the open textbook to be of the same or better quality than commercial textbooks used in their other courses. Further, many of them appreciated the fact that the textbook was customized to this particular course—which is made possible by the use of a textbook with an open license.

Research indicates that students find open educational resources (OER) favorable, but there is no research regarding students’ perceptions of faculty who use open textbooks. In the present study we examined this topic experimentally with two undergraduate psychology courses at a small public university. Participants read two passages—one about an instructor using an open textbook and another using a traditional copyrighted textbook—and rated each instructor on a range of characteristics through closed- and open-ended questions. Participants rated faculty using an open textbook higher on kindness, encouragement, and creativity than faculty using a traditional copyrighted textbook, and were more likely to want to take a class with faculty using an open textbook. Participants frequently mentioned textbook cost in their justifications.

Since 2005, open educational resources (OER) have played a key role in K-12 education in South Korea; so far, however, there has been little discussion about OER efficacy in South Korean K-12 education. In the meantime, South Korean education has been attracting a lot of interest around the world. Former U.S. President Obama’s comments about South Korean education might also be caused by South Korean students’ academic performance evaluated by international large-scale assessments such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). This article uses an ethnographic perspective to explore the experiences of teachers and students in the Korean context. The analysis of the findings shows how teachers adopt and adapt OER for their 12^th grade (the final year of secondary school) Korean language arts classes. Through classroom observations, interviews, and questionnaires, this exploration revealed that nearly 92% of the students perceived OER as beneficial to their studies and that teachers were spurred on to orchestrate differentiated instructional plans by OER. We argue that there is significant value to using OER in the formal educational curriculum, but that a lack of knowledge of how to adapt OER restricts how their potential is realized in practice. We identify implications for maximizing OER adaptation and successful usage of OER in K-12 education.

This article reports findings from a study conducted with students in three sections of a Health Psychology course that replaced a traditional textbook with open educational resources (OER) as the primary course material. The purpose of the study was t…

Khan Academy is a large and popular open educational resource (OER) with little empirical study into its impact on student achievement in mathematics when used in schools. In this study, we examined the use of Khan Academy as a mathematics intervention…

This article explores the relationship between open educational resources (OER) created by students for use by other students, the long-term sustainability of the movement toward OER, and the success of students who use OER created by other students as part of their core curricular materials. We begin by providing definitions and a broader context for thinking about the possibility of student-created OER. We then describe a course context in which student-created OER have been slowly integrated into an online class over several years and examine the impact on student learning associated with their introduction. 

Limited research has been done to date on the extent of public funding of Open Educational Resources (OER) within basic education (K-12 equivalent) in South Africa. As claims have been made about the potential cost reductions that come with using OER, …

Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) is Utah’s largest open enrollment college, and as an institution, is concerned about the expense associated with attaining a degree. All students face challenges in paying for their education, but SLCC students tend to have fewer resources to dedicate to school than students at other institutions in the state. While faculty and administrators have little control over the rising cost of tuition, they are able to offer students open educational resources (OER) to cut down on textbook costs. Salt Lake Community College’s OER initiative was implemented in Summer 2014, and has since expanded to include 125 sections in Spring 2016. We examine OER’s impact on three measures of student success: course grade, likelihood of passing, and likelihood of withdrawing. We use a multilevel modeling (MLM) approach in order to control for student, instructor, and course effects, and found no difference between courses using OER and traditional textbooks for continuing students. For new students, there is evidence that OER increases average grade. However, student-level differences such as demographic background and educational experience have a far greater impact on course grade and likelihood of passing or withdrawing than an instructor’s use of an OER text. Future research should focus on longer-term impacts of OER on retention, completion, and transfer.

It is estimated that the average student spends around 1200 USD on books and supplies every school year; thus, textbook affordability has become more and more of a challenge for students. Replacing traditionally expensive learning resources with open e…

Substituting open educational resources (OER) for commercially-produced textbooks results in demonstrable cost savings for students in most higher education institutions. Yet OER are still not widely used, and progress toward large-scale adoption in mo…

In addition to the main ingredients; sulfur, potassium chlorate and carbon, ordinary safety matches
contain various dyes, glues etc, giving the head of the match an even texture and appealing color.
Among the common reddish-brown matches there are se…

The pedagogical aim of the present paper, thought for an undergraduate audience, is to help students
to appreciate how the development of elementary models based on physics first principles is a
fundamental and necessary preliminary step for the beha…

In the past two decades, several computer software tools have been developed to investigate the
motion of moving bodies in physics laboratories. In this article we report a Matlab based video
tracking library, PhysTrack, primarily designed to investi…

In this paper we investigate teaching with a classroom response system in introductory physics with
emphasis on two issues. First, we discuss retention between question rounds and the reasons why
students avoid answering the question a second time. A…

In addition to the main ingredients; sulfur, potassium chlorate and carbon, ordinary safety matches
contain various dyes, glues etc, giving the head of the match an even texture and appealing color.
Among the common reddish-brown matches there are se…

The pedagogical aim of the present paper, thought for an undergraduate audience, is to help students
to appreciate how the development of elementary models based on physics first principles is a
fundamental and necessary preliminary step for the beha…

In the past two decades, several computer software tools have been developed to investigate the
motion of moving bodies in physics laboratories. In this article we report a Matlab based video
tracking library, PhysTrack, primarily designed to investi…

In this paper we investigate teaching with a classroom response system in introductory physics with
emphasis on two issues. First, we discuss retention between question rounds and the reasons why
students avoid answering the question a second time. A…

The idea of the indivisible atom, held since the time of the ancient Greeks, was smashed just over
100 years ago. Ernest Rutherford and his team of scientists in the UK used scattering experiments to
discover that atoms have a very dense and extremel…

In 2014, we reported that shadows can be displayed in 3D using a stereoscopic setup. We now report
that the 3D shadows can also be used to perform simple measurements, which are suitable for physics
education in schools and colleges. Two different ty…

Although visually impaired students attend regular high school, their enrolment in advanced science
classes is dramatically low. In our research we evaluated the physics learning environment of a
blind high school student in a regular Dutch high scho…

Based on network analysis, a simple method has been suggested to explain the skin effect to
undergraduate students. The mathematics required is an elementary idea of calculus giving a
surprising insight into how nature behaves.

A rarely looked into aspect, heating and its effect on the results of the diode experiment are
discussed. The error introduced in parameters such as the Boltzmann constant is also highlighted.

The idea of the indivisible atom, held since the time of the ancient Greeks, was smashed just over
100 years ago. Ernest Rutherford and his team of scientists in the UK used scattering experiments to
discover that atoms have a very dense and extremel…

In 2014, we reported that shadows can be displayed in 3D using a stereoscopic setup. We now report
that the 3D shadows can also be used to perform simple measurements, which are suitable for physics
education in schools and colleges. Two different ty…

Although visually impaired students attend regular high school, their enrolment in advanced science
classes is dramatically low. In our research we evaluated the physics learning environment of a
blind high school student in a regular Dutch high scho…

Based on network analysis, a simple method has been suggested to explain the skin effect to
undergraduate students. The mathematics required is an elementary idea of calculus giving a
surprising insight into how nature behaves.

A rarely looked into aspect, heating and its effect on the results of the diode experiment are
discussed. The error introduced in parameters such as the Boltzmann constant is also highlighted.

A vertical soap film, freely suspended at the end of a tube, is vibrated by a sound wave that
propagates in the tube. If the sound wave is a piece of music, the soap film ‘comes alive’: colours,
due to iridescences in the soap film, swirl, split …

A vertical soap film, freely suspended at the end of a tube, is vibrated by a sound wave that
propagates in the tube. If the sound wave is a piece of music, the soap film ‘comes alive’: colours,
due to iridescences in the soap film, swirl, split …

An outreach programme centred around nuclear physics making use of a LEGO ® Mindstorm ® kit is
presented. It consists of a presentation given by trained undergraduate students as science
ambassadors followed by a workshop where the target audience …

As part of a biomechanics course aimed at upper-division biology and physics majors, but applicable
to a range of student learning levels, this laboratory exercise provides an insight into the effect
of shape on hydrodynamic performance, as well an i…

The photoelectric effect is a fundamental subject taught as a part of physics courses in both high
schools and universities. It is a phenomenon relating to the ejection of electrons from a metal
surface by the action of light (or electromagnetic radi…

An outreach programme centred around nuclear physics making use of a LEGO ® Mindstorm ® kit is
presented. It consists of a presentation given by trained undergraduate students as science
ambassadors followed by a workshop where the target audience …

As part of a biomechanics course aimed at upper-division biology and physics majors, but applicable
to a range of student learning levels, this laboratory exercise provides an insight into the effect
of shape on hydrodynamic performance, as well an i…

The photoelectric effect is a fundamental subject taught as a part of physics courses in both high
schools and universities. It is a phenomenon relating to the ejection of electrons from a metal
surface by the action of light (or electromagnetic radi…

In previous publications, we illustrated the effectiveness of the method of the inhomogeneous
differential equation in calculating the electric polarizability in the one-dimensional problem. In
this paper, we extend our effort to apply the method to …

We study 100 images of early LHC collisions that were recorded by the ATLAS experiment and made
public for outreach purposes, and extract the charged particle multiplicity as a function of
momentum for proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass e…

In previous publications, we illustrated the effectiveness of the method of the inhomogeneous
differential equation in calculating the electric polarizability in the one-dimensional problem. In
this paper, we extend our effort to apply the method to …

We study 100 images of early LHC collisions that were recorded by the ATLAS experiment and made
public for outreach purposes, and extract the charged particle multiplicity as a function of
momentum for proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass e…

When an external force is applied to an extended object, the change in total energy may involve a
change in the kinetic energy of the centre of mass, plus a change in the rotational energy and
perhaps a change in the stored elastic energy. The work d…

In this article we describe an educational activity on radioactive equilibrium we performed with
secondary school students (17–18 years old) in the context of a vocational guidance stage for
talented students at the Department of Physics of the Uni…

In this work we present two simple and interactive web-based activities for introducing students to
the concepts of uncertainties in measurements. These activities are based on the real-time
construction of histograms from students measurements and t…

The wide-spread availability of smartphones makes them a valuable addition to the measurement
equipment of both the physics classroom and the instructional physics laboratory, encouraging an
active interaction between measurements and modeling activi…

The wide-spread availability of smartphones makes them a valuable addition to the measurement
equipment of both the physics classroom and the instructional physics laboratory, encouraging an
active interaction between measurements and modeling activi…

In this article we describe an educational activity on radioactive equilibrium we performed with
secondary school students (17–18 years old) in the context of a vocational guidance stage for
talented students at the Department of Physics of the Uni…

When an external force is applied to an extended object, the change in total energy may involve a
change in the kinetic energy of the centre of mass, plus a change in the rotational energy and
perhaps a change in the stored elastic energy. The work d…

In this work we present two simple and interactive web-based activities for introducing students to
the concepts of uncertainties in measurements. These activities are based on the real-time
construction of histograms from students measurements and t…

Theoretical assessment of the upper limit of a star’s mass is a difficult problem which lies at the
frontier of astrophysical research. In this article we develop a simple and plausible argument to
estimate this value. The value at which we arrive …

Theoretical assessment of the upper limit of a star’s mass is a difficult problem which lies at the
frontier of astrophysical research. In this article we develop a simple and plausible argument to
estimate this value. The value at which we arrive …

Theoretical assessment of the upper limit of a star’s mass is a difficult problem which lies at the
frontier of astrophysical research. In this article we develop a simple and plausible argument to
estimate this value. The value at which we arrive …

Bodies can have very weird trajectories when tossed into the air. The amazing motion of a water
bottle flip is qualitatively described as related to the position of the centre of mass (CM) with
respect to the body’s frame of reference. Although thi…

Trajectory analysis is an alternative to using wind tunnels to measure a soccer ball’s aerodynamic
properties. It has advantages over wind tunnel testing such as being more representative of game
play. However, previous work has not presented a met…

We show a laboratory experiment in which students can learn the use of interferometry as a valuable
tool in astronomy. We detail experiments based on the use of the classic Michelson stellar
interferometer able to reproduce the size of single stars a…

We show a laboratory experiment in which students can learn the use of interferometry as a valuable
tool in astronomy. We detail experiments based on the use of the classic Michelson stellar
interferometer able to reproduce the size of single stars a…

Trajectory analysis is an alternative to using wind tunnels to measure a soccer ball’s aerodynamic
properties. It has advantages over wind tunnel testing such as being more representative of game
play. However, previous work has not presented a met…

Bodies can have very weird trajectories when tossed into the air. The amazing motion of a water
bottle flip is qualitatively described as related to the position of the centre of mass (CM) with
respect to the body’s frame of reference. Although thi…

We present a simple and pedagogical method for quickly calculating optical pumping processes based
on linearised population rate equations. The method can easily be implemented on mathematical
software run on modest personal computers, and can be gen…

The quality of learning processes is mainly determined by the extent to which students’ conceptions
are addressed and thus conceptual change is triggered. Colour phenomena are a topic within initial
instruction of optics which is challenging. A phy…

This paper presents a simple electromagnetic generator meant for use in students’ experiments. This
apparatus provides realization of a series of experiments demonstrating the principles of
electricity generation and the conversion of electricity t…

Previous work covers building a tower from a stack of homogeneous rectangular plates, each with a
maximum shift in displacement. We suggest using plates shaped as curvilinear triangles bounded by
segments of power-law functions. The masses of the pla…

We present a simple and pedagogical method for quickly calculating optical pumping processes based
on linearised population rate equations. The method can easily be implemented on mathematical
software run on modest personal computers, and can be gen…

This paper presents a simple electromagnetic generator meant for use in students’ experiments. This
apparatus provides realization of a series of experiments demonstrating the principles of
electricity generation and the conversion of electricity t…

Previous work covers building a tower from a stack of homogeneous rectangular plates, each with a
maximum shift in displacement. We suggest using plates shaped as curvilinear triangles bounded by
segments of power-law functions. The masses of the pla…

The quality of learning processes is mainly determined by the extent to which students’ conceptions
are addressed and thus conceptual change is triggered. Colour phenomena are a topic within initial
instruction of optics which is challenging. A phy…

We propose the use of smartphone-based slow-motion video analysis techniques as a valuable tool for
investigating physics concepts ruling mechanical wave propagation. The simple experimental
activities presented here, suitable for both high school an…

In this manuscript a method is proposed to estimate the wavelength of a laser diode source, under
the scheme of a two-source Twyman–Green interferometric setup. This proposal is based on the count
and ratio of the interfering fringes generated by t…

We propose the use of smartphone-based slow-motion video analysis techniques as a valuable tool for
investigating physics concepts ruling mechanical wave propagation. The simple experimental
activities presented here, suitable for both high school an…

In this manuscript a method is proposed to estimate the wavelength of a laser diode source, under
the scheme of a two-source Twyman–Green interferometric setup. This proposal is based on the count
and ratio of the interfering fringes generated by t…

An exact derivation of the Thomas precession formula is presented based on the Fermi–Walker
transport equation. Given that the Thomas precession effect is not a particularly intuitive
phenomenon, such that when discovered in 1925 it took by surpris…

An exact derivation of the Thomas precession formula is presented based on the Fermi–Walker
transport equation. Given that the Thomas precession effect is not a particularly intuitive
phenomenon, such that when discovered in 1925 it took by surpris…

This article brings to light the fact that linearity is by itself a meaningful symmetry in the
senses of Lie and Noether. First, the role played by that ‘linearity symmetry’ in the quadrature of
linear second-order differential equations is revis…

Charging a capacitor with a photovoltaic module is an experiment which reveals a lot about the
modules characteristics. It is customary to represent these characteristics with an equivalent
circuit whose elements represent its physical parameters. Th…

Charging a capacitor with a photovoltaic module is an experiment which reveals a lot about the
modules characteristics. It is customary to represent these characteristics with an equivalent
circuit whose elements represent its physical parameters. Th…

An exact derivation of the Thomas precession formula is presented based on the Fermi–Walker
transport equation. Given that the Thomas precession effect is not a particularly intuitive
phenomenon, such that when discovered in 1925 it took by surpris…

This article brings to light the fact that linearity is by itself a meaningful symmetry in the
senses of Lie and Noether. First, the role played by that ‘linearity symmetry’ in the quadrature of
linear second-order differential equations is revis…

Optical fibres play a very crucial role in today’s technologies. Academic courses in optical fibres
start at the undergraduate level. Nevertheless, student’s curiosity towards optical fibres starts
from the school level. In this paper, some fun e…

Getting confused (in lessons) is not necessarily a bad thing. In some physics lessons it may well be
inevitable. Understanding may or may not be possible but thinking it through will always help, and
this how learning takes place. Confusion need not …

Optical fibres play a very crucial role in today’s technologies. Academic courses in optical fibres
start at the undergraduate level. Nevertheless, student’s curiosity towards optical fibres starts
from the school level. In this paper, some fun e…