Research Summaries

August 21, 2019 Nick Young

What’s so complex about complex algebra?

Today we look at some problems physics students encounter when transitioning between representations of complex numbers.

July 10, 2019 Nick Young

Gender and racial biases still a problem in physics post-doctoral hiring

Even when the CVs are otherwise identical, physics faculty preferred applicants from majority groups as opposed to candidates from minority groups.

June 26, 2019 Nick Young

Research-backed advice for mentoring researchers

Mentoring an undergraduate researcher for the first time or looking to improve your mentoring ability? See what the literature has to say.

May 22, 2019 Nick Young

The chicken and the egg problem of academic productivity

Faculty at more prestigious universities tend to publish more. However, faculty at prestigious universities tend to be trained at prestigious universities. So it is the training or their current position that causes their productivity bump?

May 1, 2019 Nick Young

Sexual harassment is a problem in physics

75% of undergraduate women in physics report experiencing some form of sexual harassment.

April 24, 2019 Nick Young

Virtual Labs vs Physical Labs: does it matter?

Physics labs can be done with physical equipment or done virtually. It appears each has its own benefits.

April 10, 2019 Nick Young

Will I get worse student evaluations if I switch to active learning? Probably not.

Many instructors fear that switching from lecture to active learning will result in worse student evaluations. That doesn’t appear to be the case.

March 27, 2019 Nick Young

This title is like an analogy; it should explain this post but it really doesn’t.

Analogies are used all of the time in physics education. But what makes a good analogy?

March 13, 2019 Nick Young

That’s no schematic, it’s a power box

Today’s post introduces a new type of representation for understanding circuits, the power box with multiple examples.

February 27, 2019 Nick Young

Hey instructors, your beliefs can affect students’ grades (and not in a positive way)

Minority students in classes with fixed-mindset instructors do worse than in classes with growth-mindset instructors.