Physics Education Research

In this group, members investigate the functioning of physics courses, what course elements are most effective, and how to make physics courses more inclusive. 

Current efforts focus on understanding the structure of conceptual physics knowledge and the properties of widely used conceptual physics evaluations. The group also works to improve physics teacher preparation and public outreach.

Associated Faculty

• Prof. Wathiq Abdul-Razzaq | Research Interests: Abdul-Razzaq studies algebra-based introductory laboratory transformations to make the physics learning experience more relevant to life science majors.
• Prof. Paul Miller | Research Interests: Miller is broadly interested in undergraduate course transformation, departmental transformation, and the design of introductory laboratories. He is the leader of the implementation of the Physics for Everyday Thinking curriculum at WVU, and specializes in the teaching of introductory physics for engineers. Miller currently serves as our Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies and Academics. 
• Prof. Gay Stewart | Research Interests: Stewart focuses on the preparation of physics teachers, departmental transformation, and high school physics education. Her previous leadership roles include time served as the President of the American Association of Physics Teachers, member of the American Physical Society (APS) Board of Directors. Additionally, she served as Co-Chair of the NSF-supported AP physics redesign that launched AP Physics 1 and 2, which greatly expanded access of AP physics to underserved populations. Stewart was site leader of the University of Arkansas PhysTEC program. She is the founding director of the WVU Center for Excellence in STEM Education. 
• Prof. John Stewart |  Research Interests: Stewart's research revolves around coherence of physics knowledge, physics class function, student retention, student recruitment, inclusion, departmental transformation, and online learning. He was Chair of the American Physical Society Forum on Education (2017). Currently, Stewart is the PI for the WVU Robert Noyce Scholarship Program, CPHYS Computational Physics Scholarship programs, and STEM-R, a National Science Foundation grant to study STEM retention in the first two years of college.