Alongside our work in particle physics, the group studies how students actually learn physics and what teaching can do about it. The work is empirical. We instrument our own courses, record what students do before and during class, and test whether particular changes to teaching make a measurable difference.
What we study
Confidence and calibration
Students are often most wrong where they are most certain. Asking for a confidence rating on every question separates what a student does not know from what they believe incorrectly, which are two different teaching problems. We track how well confidence predicts accuracy, and whether that calibration improves over a semester.
Misconception-targeted questions
Conceptual questions whose wrong answers are documented misconceptions rather than arbitrary distractors. Every response then says something specific about a student’s mental model, and class discussion can be aimed at the particular idea the room actually holds.
Structured practice before class
Short concept checks completed before the session, each ending with a prompt asking which point was least clear. Those answers set the agenda for the class that follows, so teaching responds to the room rather than to a plan written a week earlier.
The Drew study
The current study runs in introductory physics at Drew. Students answer short concept checks before class and rate how confident they are in each answer. The same ideas return in class as questions the whole room votes on and then argues about. We compare responses on matched ideas before and after discussion, and examine where confident wrong answers were corrected and where they survived.
The research was reviewed by the Drew University Institutional Review Board and determined exempt in August 2026. Participation is voluntary and has no bearing on grades. Findings will be reported in a scholarship of teaching and learning paper.
The study uses DepthSTEM, a teaching platform developed by Professor Benslama to deliver the pre-class work, run the in-class questions, and collect the responses the study analyses.
Working with us
Students interested in physics education research, data analysis, or the design of assessment are welcome to get in touch. The work suits anyone curious about why a clear explanation so often fails to land. Contact Professor Benslama.
Drew Particle Physics Group (DPPG) 