Our Approach
CISER projects are typically situated in the discipline of Physics, and encompass a variety of educational contexts including university classrooms, teacher education programs, K-12 out-of-school programs and other informal science education spaces. We typically use research methodologies from the social sciences, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods approaches. The ultimate goal is to improve and advance the teaching and learning of physics and other science principles.
Introductory Physics Labs for Life Science (IPL2S)
This project explores student learning in a reformed introductory physics laboratory course for life and health science students. Recent work has focused on how Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Learning Assistants (LAs) can support sense-making and productive social dynamics for all group members.
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Forces First
This project explores student reasoning in a reformed introductory physics lecture course where forces and Newton's laws (i.e., Dynamics) are covered before Kinematics. We are interested in how this curricular change impacts student reasoning in large enrollment physics courses.
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Thinking Quantum-ly
This project explores how students make sense of the enigmatic - or “wonky” - aspects of quantum mechanics by leveraging their classical and mathematical intuition and reasoning across scales. We are interested in learning how quantum mechanics can be more accessible to a wider range of students.
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High School Project on Astrophysics Research with Cosmics (HiSPARC)
In this project, high schools and academic institutions form a network to observe and measure ultra-high-energy cosmic rays with ground-based scintillation detectors. HiSPARC offers students and teachers the opportunity to research the properties of these mysterious cosmic particles.
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