- Astronomy & Astrophysics Education by Mieke de Cock
- Emerging Phenomena in Soft (Active) matter by Alexandre Morin
- Physics Lab Education by Heather Lewandowski
- Quantum Education by Rainer Müller
- Inclusivity and Diversity in Physics by Judith Hillier
- The Role of Mathematics in Physics education by Ricardo Karam
Mieke de Cock, KU Leuven, Belgium
Navigating the Cosmos: Cognitive Challenges in Astronomy Education
Astronomy is not only one of the oldest sciences, it also fascinates a broad public. For this reason, it plays a special role within public science communication. However, because of its appeal, astronomy can also play a crucial role in science education, by acting as a “gateway science” which can open doors for many STEM fields.
To establish this, we need dedicated research on the teaching and learning of astronomy related concepts: a growing body of research shows that these concepts are often extremely difficult to grasp and understand deeply. Although over the last decades a wide range of aspects of astronomy education has been studied, including both cognitive and affective dimensions of learning, this talk will specifically focus on the cognitive aspects.
We will explore how students construct mental models of astronomical phenomena examining the challenges they face in grasping abstract concepts such as celestial motion, scale, and three-dimensional spatial relationships. The presentation will discuss findings on conceptual change in astronomy education, focusing on how learners overcome common misconceptions and develop scientifically accurate understanding. We will also discuss the role of visual-spatial abilities in astronomy learning.
By synthesizing research from cognitive psychology, astronomy education, and physics learning, we aim to offer both researchers and teachers a deeper insight in student learning and evidence-based approaches to improve astronomy instruction across various educational levels.
Mieke de Cock studied physics at KU Leuven (Belgium) where she also obtained her PhD in Theoretical Physics. After her PhD, she worked a few years as a medical physicist at the Radiotherapy Department in the University Hospital Brussels. In 2007, Mieke returned to KU Leuven where she now is full professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy. She is responsible for the Teacher Education Program in Science and Technology and leads the APER (Astronomy and Physics Education Research) group. Her research has a strong focus on conceptual understanding in Physics and Astronomy and on the Mathematics-Physics interplay, both at secondary and university level.
Alexandre Morin, Leiden University, The Netherlands
The Physics of Flocking: Emergence of Collective Motion in Active Matter
From bacteria colonies, to insect swarms, to bird flocks, collective motion emerges within large groups of living creatures even in the absence of a leader. Physicists aim at uncovering the universal aspects shared by all these systems despite their differences in length scales, environments, or communication means - very much like in phase transitions, such as crystallisation, where some features are independent of the specific atoms or molecules. Characteristic of active matter is the ability of the individuals to self-propel by consuming energy, which keeps these systems out-of-thermodynamic equilibrium and underlies their rich spatio-temporal dynamics.
In this talk, I will present a model experimental system for studying the emergence of collective motion in the laboratory. In place of living creatures, we study plastic microspheres turned into self-propelled individuals via an electro-hydrodynamic instability. This setup allows us to investigate the collective dynamics emerging within large populations of up to millions of individuals, conveniently observed under the microscope. While the system remains isotropic at low density, with individuals moving in every direction, spontaneous symmetry breaking occurs at high density with all individuals moving on average in a common direction: the microspheres flock! I will rationalise this dynamical phase transition by discussing the electric and hydrodynamic interactions between individuals. Finally, I will discuss a few properties of these flocks, from wave propagation to their spontaneous demixing.
Alexandre Morin is Assistant Professor at the Physics Institute of Leiden University, Netherlands. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from the École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, France. He carries out research on soft condensed matter and particularly on active matter. In his laboratory, he develops experimental model systems to investigate the emergent properties of out-of-equilibrium systems and uncover their self-organisation principles. Besides his research activities, he is involved in teaching physics to Bachelor students and supervising Bachelor and Master students for their research projects in the lab.
Heather Lewandowski, University of Boulder Colorado & NIST, United States of America
Engaging Students in Authentic Scientific Practices in Physics Lab Courses
Theoretical models are essential for explaining and predicting physical phenomena, but physics is fundamentally an experimental science. The integration of theoretical or computational models with experimental data is a cornerstone of physics. However, physics education has traditionally prioritized theory through lecture-based courses, often at the expense of experimental education. This imbalance is particularly evident in undergraduate curricula, where theory courses significantly outnumber laboratory courses.
Until recently, this disparity was also reflected in physics education research, which featured only a handful of studies focused on experimental learning. This gap is striking given the unique complexity of the laboratory environment, where students engage in multifaceted interactions—with peers, equipment, instructors, concepts, habits of mind, and technical skills—leading to higher-level learning outcomes. When surveyed, faculty members overwhelmingly identified laboratory courses and undergraduate research as critical spaces for developing the knowledge and skills expected of physics graduates. Addressing these gaps requires greater attention to laboratory education.
I will outline the diverse goals that laboratory education can achieve and discuss how we have partnered with laboratory instructors across the U.S. and Europe to understand student learning and enhance the effectiveness of physics laboratory education.
Heather Lewandowski received her B.S. in physics from Michigan Technological University and her Ph.D. in physics from the University of Colorado, where she worked on experimental studies with Bose-Einstein condensates. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder. Currently, she is a Professor of Physics, a Fellow of JILA, and the Faculty Director of the CUbit Quantum Initiative for Education and Workforce Development. She leads two research programs: one in experimental molecular physics and the other in physics education research. Her molecular physics research investigates the interactions and reactions of cold, chemically important molecules and ions. In her physics education research, she explores ways to enhance students’ proficiency in experimental scientific practices through laboratory courses and studies many aspects of quantum science education and workforce development.
Rainer Müller, Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany
Quantum Education
The teaching and learning of quantum physics has been an area of intense research in physics education for many years. Based on research on students' conceptions and learning difficulties, teaching concepts have been developed and evaluated. Possible learning objectives and the various ways to achieve them have been discussed at previous GIREP conferences. The first part of the talk will introduce our own approach, the milq concept, which is based on a mini-axiomatic of quantum physics, the 'quantum reasoning tools'.
The second part will examine how the new quantum technologies can enrich the teaching of quantum physics. Quantum computing, quantum sensors and quantum communication have been at the forefront of research in recent years and attract a lot of attention in the public. From an educational point of view, quantum technologies are interesting because the focus on the decidedly non-classical aspects of quantum physics. We will discuss how quantum technologies can be used as possible application contexts in physics teaching at upper secondary level.
Rainer Müller studied physics at the Universities of Gießen and Konstanz, Germany, and obtained a PhD in theoretical physics. Since 1997 he has been active in Physics Education Research, focusing on the teaching and learning of quantum physics. He completed his habilitation in 2003 in the group of H. Wiesner. Since 2002 he has been Professor of Physics Education at the TU Braunschweig. Currently, Rainer Müller leads the workforce development workpackage in the EU Quantum Technology Flagship and is responsible for the coordination and support of education and training activities in the Quantum Flagship. With F. Greinert, he co-authored the book 'Quantum Technologies for Engineers' (2023). They also developed the European Competence Framework for Quantum Technologies, which aims to provide a common language for quantum technology education.
Judith Hillier, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Inclusivity and Diversity in Physics
There have long been concerns about the lack of diversity in physics, most notably around the under-representation of women, with numerous efforts to make physics a more inclusive discipline. I will present an overview of how far we have come in recent decades, and how the nature of the discourse has changed from trying to ‘fix’ the people in the minority groups, to asking more searching and challenging questions about the culture of physics and the behaviours that perpetuate it.
Drawing on my own research with CUWiP+ UK & Ireland (Conference for Undergraduate Women and Non-Binary Physicists) over the last 10 years, we will explore what we can learn from the experiences of these young people whilst studying physics, and their hopes and aspirations for careers in physics. By examining their experiences during an annual 3 day conference, we will reflect on what it means to co-construct an inclusive physics community. We will also study the experiences of those who organise these conferences and how these leaders too are changed by this work that is conducted alongside the rest of their roles. Finally, we will consider how the physics education research community might continue this drive to increase inclusion and diversity in physics amidst a swiftly changing and challenging political landscape.
Judith Hillier, Associate Professor of Science Education (Physics), has been at the University of Oxford Department of Education since 2007, where she is Deputy PGCE Course Director, leads the science PGCE programme, teaches on the Masters in Learning and Teaching and the Masters in Teacher Education, and also runs the Teaching Physics in Schools option for 2nd year physics undergraduates. She is also a Fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford. Prior to that, after completing a degree in Physics at the University of St Andrews and her PhD in condensed matter physics from the University of Leeds and the Institut Laue Langevin, Grenoble, Judith studied on the Oxford PGCE programme and taught for several years in an Oxfordshire comprehensive school. Judith’s research interests lie in the education of science teachers, the recruitment and retention of physics teachers, the role of language in the development of scientific explanations in the classroom, and gender and diversity in STEM education. In 2021 she was awarded the Marie Curie-Sklodowska Medal by the Institute of Physics for her significant contribution to the support of women in physics through her work with the Conference for Undergraduate Women and Non-Binary People in Physics, and to the education of teachers of physics.
Ricardo Karam, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
The complexification of physics: Historical episodes and educational implications
Complex numbers were created (or discovered?) by Italian mathematicians in the 16th century as pragmatic tools to solve cubic equations, and not much attention was given to ontological questions about their “existence”. However, this changed significantly in the end of the 18th century, when complex numbers were given a geometrical interpretation. Such concretization motivated physicists to use these numbers to model numerous phenomena, a process that has been called “complexification of physics” by Salomon Bochner. In this talk, different historical episodes will be presented, highlighting, in each case, how and why complex numbers became useful to physicists. Taken together, these examples provide a rather nuanced and pluralistic picture of the interplay between mathematics and physics, and its educational implications.
Ricardo (Avelar Sotomaior) Karam is an Associate Professor of Physics Education at the University of Copenhagen. He has a PhD degree in Physics Education from the University of São Paulo (2012), with a doctoral stay at TU Dresden (2010-2011), was a postdoctoral fellow of the Humboldt-Foundation at the University of Hamburg (2012-2014) and has been a visiting scholar in several universities worldwide, including UC San Diego, UFRGS, University of Maryland, Sydney, Bologna and Helsinki. His research focuses on the educational implications of the interplay between physics and mathematics, and on the pedagogical potential of the history of physics, especially quantum mechanics.
