PER Informed “Physics Teaching”—Coordinating Learning Goals and Teaching Practices

Abstract

This chapter discusses three major questions guiding research-informed “physics teaching:”What learning goals should physics teaching aim at? What processes and conceptual frameworks involved in doing physics should be targeted at different educational stages?What should physics teaching consider as the foundation it builds on? How should it respond to different students” views and approaches toward the learning and doing of physics?What characterizes the learning processes that allow students to transition from one “state” to the other, and what instructional interactions support these processes? It describes how the chapters in the third section of the IPHER handbook (2022) are organized in four branches to address these questions: Physics teaching aimed at developing core scientific practices; Physics teaching aimed at extending the scope of the current introductory-level curricula; Physics teaching considering the vertical and horizontal integration of Physics in K-12 curricula; and research considering effective instruction and teaching practices. We conclude with insights from the educational literature concerning the central “change agents”—teachers and researchers—who are essential in a research-informed “physics teaching” endeavor, in particular, central factors in teacher learning and in the interactions that are required for carrying out effective Research Practice Partnerships.