Contribute to PhysPort

Contribute to PhysPort

Ways to contribute to PhysPort

  1. Write an expert recommendation
  2. Share teaching methods or materials
  3. Share an assessment
  4. Suggest content for PhysPort without writing it yourself

Write an expert recommendation

What is an expert recommendation?

PhysPort expert recommendations are short articles answering common questions physics instructors have about teaching and assessment. An expert recommendation should answer a real question that physics instructors have using language familiar to them, make sense, and feel satisfying. These articles draw on results of physics education research (PER) and can also draw on collected informal wisdom of the physics education community. To learn more, see our PhysPort Expert Recommendations Style Guide.

Who can write an expert recommendation? Am I an expert?

If you have experience implementing or conducting research on a particular teaching approach, and have learned lessons from that experience that beginners probably don’t know, you are an expert. We welcome a diversity of perspectives and approaches for teaching physics. We are particularly interested in highlighting perspectives from junior authors and/or authors from marginalized groups.

What are possible topics for expert recommendations?

We are currently soliciting expert recommendations in the following areas. We will also consider ideas that are not in this list.

  1. Equity and inclusion in physics classrooms and departments
  2. Identities in physics 
  3. Equitable grading practices, including standards-based grading
  4. Creating classroom community
  5. Effective practices for homework and/or exams, e.g., how to develop good questions
  6. How to get started with active learning
  7. Problem solving and/or thinking like a physicist
  8. Labs
  9. Computation

How do I submit a proposal for contributing an expert recommendation?

You can submit a proposal here. You will be asked to submit:

  • A paragraph about what you want to write.
  • A paragraph about your expertise or experience.
  • Your cv.

What is the process for publishing an expert recommendation?

  • If we think your proposal is a good fit for a PhysPort expert recommendation, we will invite you to submit a full article for publication on the site.
  • Our editorial team will provide feedback on revisions needed to publish your expert recommendation on our site. We may suggest that you make revisions, or we may offer to make the revisions for you. Examples of revisions we might suggest are to add missing information or resources, to revise language to better match our style guide and goals, and to link to other PhysPort resources.

What are the criteria for whether a proposal will be accepted?

Here are some of the criteria we use to determine whether a proposal is a good fit for an expert recommendation

  • Does your proposed expert recommendation answer a question that physics instructors commonly have about teaching? Will it be useful to physics instructors?
  • Is it based on research on and/or a process of regular reflection on, assessment of, and improvement of teaching?
  • Does it support equity and inclusion in physics classrooms and departments?
  • Does it recognize all students, faculty, staff, administrators, and members of the public as valuable and capable; seek to identify and build on their strengths; and not characterize them in terms of their deficits?
  • Is it on the list of topics we are soliciting? (We can still take expert recommendations on other topics, but prioritize the topics listed above.)
  • Does it provide a perspective not represented in the expert recommendations currently on PhysPort?
  • Are you a junior author or an author from a marginalized group?

Share teaching methods or materials

Why share your materials on PhysPort?

  • Leave the dissemination to us: PhysPort is a well-known source for research-based teaching methods and materials with over a decade of experience disseminating teaching and assessment materials and is widely regarded as the go-to place to learn about research-based teaching in physics. Your materials will be maintained on PhysPort after your project ends. Our educator verification process ensures that only educators have access to any restricted materials. PhysPort is backed by the American Association of Physics Teachers.
  • Reach a wide audience: PhysPort registered users represent 20% of college physics faculty in the US. We also reach a large audience of US high school physics teachers (a third of our users) and international physics instructors (another third of our users).

Criteria: What goes on PhysPort?

  • Research validation: All teaching materials on PhysPort should meet at least one of the following criteria for research validation. The more criteria are met, the higher its research validation will be on our site.
    • Based on Research Into:
      • theories of how students learn
      • student ideas about specific topics
    • Demonstrated to Improve:
      • conceptual understanding
      • problem-solving skills
      • lab skills
      • beliefs and attitudes
      • attendance
      • retention of students
      • success of underrepresented groups
      • performance in subsequent classes
    • Studied using:
      • cycle of research and redevelopment
      • student interviews
      • classroom observations
      • analysis of written work
      • research at multiple institutions
      • research by multiple groups
      • peer-reviewed publication
  • Type of method or material: PhysPort teaching methods can include any of the following:
    • Full curricula
    • Curriculum supplements
    • Strategies and techniques
    • Tutorials and labs
    • Computer simulations
  • Grain size: Teaching methods should be a sufficiently large grain size to make sense as an independent page on PhysPort. We don’t currently have a mechanism to share an individual activity or teaching tip, although this may be coming in the future.
  • Audience: Teaching methods should be appropriate for a physics classroom in the US.

How will my materials show up on PhysPort?

  • We can create a standard teaching method page providing an overview of your materials similar to these pages for Peer Instruction, SCALE-UP, and Open Source Tutorials.
  • If you want to share your actual materials on PhysPort, we can make a curriculum page for you that you can edit and organize however you like, similar to this page for ACORN Physics Tutorials or this page for the Tutorials on thinking about quantum entities.
  • Note that we are in the process of redesigning these pages, so they will look different in the future, but will contain most of the same information.

Publication charges

  • If your materials are part of a funded project, we ask for a one-time publication charge, analogous to what you would pay to publish an article in an open-source journal. To create a standard teaching method page, our publication charge is $5000. Publication charges are waived or reduced for projects without funding. We try not to turn away appropriate projects due to lack of funding. Publication charges help maintain PhysPort.
  • We can also work with you to create custom features that are not part of standard PhysPort pages for an additional charge. Contact us for details.
  • If you are writing a National Science Foundation grant proposal for a physics education curriculum project, program officers will encourage you to include funds in your budget to disseminate your materials on a site such as PhysPort. If you contact us, we would be happy to discuss options with you and provide a letter of collaboration for your proposal.

How to contribute

  • Contact us to suggest teaching methods and materials you would like to put on PhysPort. Tell us:
    • The name of your method or materials
    • A short description of what it is and why it belongs on PhysPort.
    • If applicable, links to more information about it, including any website you have created and/or research papers about it.
  • Our editorial team will determine whether it belongs on PhysPort.
  • If it does, we’ll ask you for all the information needed to create a teaching method page similar to these pages for Peer Instruction, SCALE-UP, and Open Source Tutorials. 
  • We will review and revise the information you provide to make it consistent with our style, values, and goals.
  • If you need to share your actual materials, we can make a curriculum page for you that you can edit and organize however you like, similar to this page for ACORN Physics Tutorials or this page for the Tutorials on thinking about quantum entities.

Share an assessment

Why share your assessment on PhysPort?

  • Leave the dissemination to us: PhysPort is a well-known source for research-based assessments with over a decade of experience disseminating teaching and assessment materials and is widely regarded as the go-to place to learn about research-based teaching in physics. Your assessment will be maintained on PhysPort after your project ends. Our educator verification process ensures that only educators have access to any restricted assessments. PhysPort is backed by the American Association of Physics Teachers.
  • Reach a wide audience: PhysPort registered users represent 20% of college physics faculty in the US. We also reach a large audience of US high school physics teachers (a third of our users) and international physics instructors (another third of our users).

Criteria: What goes on PhysPort?

  • Research validation: All assessments on PhysPort should meet at least one of the following criteria for research validation. The more criteria are met, the higher its research validation will be on our site.
    • Based on Research Into:
      • Student thinking (for observation protocols: Classroom behavior)
    • Studied Using:
      • Student interviews (for observation protocols: Iterative observations)
      • Expert review (for observation protocols: Inter-rater reliability)
      • Appropriate statistical analysis (for observation protocols: Training materials)
    • Research Conducted:
      • At multiple institutions
      • By multiple research groups
      • Peer-reviewed publication
  • Audience: Assessments should be appropriate for a physics classroom in the US.

How will my assessment show up on PhysPort?

  • We can create a standard assessment page providing information about your assessment and options for verified educators to download it, similar to these pages for the Force Concept Inventory, the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey, or the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol. We can notify you every time someone downloads your assessment, or send you an annual summary of downloads.
  • If your assessment is a multiple-choice assessment with only one answer per question and a simple scoring scheme, we can also make it available on our Data Explorer for verified educators to securely upload their students’ responses and get analysis and visualization.
  • Note that we are in the process of redesigning these pages, so they will look different in the future, but will contain most of the same information.

Publication charges

  • If your assessment is part of a funded project, we ask for a one-time publication charge, analogous to what you would pay to publish an article in an open-source journal. To create a standard assessment page, our publication charge is $5000. Publication charges are waived or reduced for projects without funding. We try not to turn away appropriate projects due to lack of funding. Publication charges help maintain PhysPort.
  • We can also work with you to create custom features that are not part of standard PhysPort pages (e.g., if your assessment has a complex scoring scheme) for an additional charge. Contact us for details.
  • If you are writing a National Science Foundation grant proposal for a physics education curriculum project, program officers will encourage you to include funds in your budget to disseminate your assessment on a site such as PhysPort. If you contact us, we would be happy to discuss options with you and provide a letter of collaboration for your proposal.

How to contribute

  • Contact us to suggest an assessment you would like to put on PhysPort. Tell us:
    • The name of your assessment
    • A short description of what it is and why it belongs on PhysPort.
    • If applicable, links to more information about it, including any website you have created and/or research papers about it.
  • Our editorial team will determine whether it belongs on PhysPort.
  • If it does, we’ll ask you for all the information needed to create an assessment page similar to these pages for the Force Concept Inventory, the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey, or the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol, and if your assessment is a multiple-choice assessment with only one answer per question and a simple scoring scheme, to add it to our Data Explorer.
  • We will review and revise the information you provide to make it consistent with our style, values, and goals.

Suggest content for PhysPort without writing it yourself

You can always contact us to tell us your ideas about what we should include on PhysPort.