PhysPort use and growth: Supporting physics teaching with research-based resources since 2011

TL;DR

PhysPort has become a widely used platform since 2011, supporting physics educators in applying research-based teaching methods through user-centered design and extensive growth in usage among U.S. physics faculty.

Contribution

This paper introduces PhysPort, a research-based resource platform for physics educators, highlighting its development, user-centered design, and significant growth since 2011.

Findings

Usage doubled every two years since 2011

20% of U.S. physics faculty are verified users

PhysPort is a key resource for physics education research application

Abstract

PhysPort (www.physport.org) has become the go-to place for physics faculty to learn to apply research-based teaching and assessment in their classrooms. Usage has doubled every two years since the site was released in 2011, and 20% of all U.S. physics faculty are now verified educators on PhysPort. The lead author conceived of PhysPort in 2007 after meeting many physics faculty interested in incorporating results of physics education research (PER) in their classrooms but with no idea where to start. At the time, most PER results were buried in research journals not accessible to ordinary physics educators, and there was no central place to learn about results and implications for classroom practice. Throughout its development, PhysPort has been based on user research: we interview physics faculty about their needs, design the site based on those needs, and conduct usability testing to see how we meet those needs. PhysPort is a joint product of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and Kansas State University (K-State), with contributions from many universities, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and a library within the ComPADRE.org digital library. The site (originally called the PER User's Guide) was first funded by an NSF grant in 2009 and released in November 2011. This article presents an overview of resources on PhysPort, discussion of research and development of the site, and data on the continuing growth of site usage.