My goals for a blog for PER articles

For years, I've posted messages to various mailing lists, including links to newly published articles that might be of interest to those of us who do physics education research (PER). Though this is nice, broadly speaking, it's a bit of a hassle for anyone else to get access to. If you're not on the mailing lists that are out there (PhysLrnr, for example), then you'll have a hard time finding out what is out there. And, though those mailing lists maintain archives, those are often difficult to work with, and so on. There is a place for a blog that can share links to papers and publications that are relevant to PER.

Now, it's obvious that everyone's taste in PER articles is going to be different. My interests lie in

• resource theory and linked ideas


• curriculum development on advanced physics topics


• the physics topics of mechanics, quantum physics, and wave physics


• the role of mathematics when thinking about physics

It is highly likely that these are not your interests. I will do my best to bring in articles that are of interest to all physics education researchers, from whatever source I find. The journals which I pay attention to are AJP, TPT, Phys Rev ST-PER, obviously, and also a bunch that deal with the learning sciences (JLS, JRST, IJSE, etc.) and other journals that aren't as often followed by US researchers (EJP, Physics Education). For those who know me, don't worry, I won't forget arxiv.org. Also, I will post links that I grab from my RSS feeds (Cognitive Daily or How We Learn, etc.). I will post links to the articles and perhaps I'll give some commentary of my own. I will try to use labels on the articles, so that you can group information based on author, physics content, methodology, or whatever. The number of such tags will be large, but hopefully useful.

What do I hope to have happen with this blog? For one, I hope it's a resource for those who are interested in PER. If nothing else, you might find a paper that you weren't expecting to find. That kind of sharing of information helps. Second, I hope that people might comment on the articles that are posted. If you read a paper and have something to say, say it here! Help out other readers. Tell them what the strengths or the weaknesses are. Yes, you can do this anonymously - or you can give your name, and we know who you are. Of course, you could start your own blog, and we could all end up debating these ideas in public. And, if you really really want to participate... then let's talk, and I can add you to the roll of people who can post on this blog. I don't want this to be just me, basically.

One important way to help: if you find an article that I have missed, then drop me a line! I won't spend much time going into the past to post famous or seminal articles. I'll post new things, from now on.

Stay tuned. Thanks for your interest.