Our Research Projects
Find all the projects, completed and ongoing of CERN’s Physics Education Research team.
Ongoing Doctoral Research Projects
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Filippa Dalesjo (2025 – present) Embodiment and belonging in nuclear physics education
Filippa Dalesjo (2025 – present) Embodiment and belonging in nuclear physics education Students’ stereotypical beliefs surrounding STEM careers, like race, gender, sexuality and level of intelligence negatively affect their expectations linked to STEM careers. This in turn limits diversity and innovation in the field. Filippa takes aim at one of the central aspects of this problem;
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Tobias Treczoks (2024 – present) Development of an Interactive Learning Unit at CERN Science Gateway: AIding High-School Students in Handling Chances and Risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Tobias Treczoks (2024 – present) Development of an Interactive Learning Unit at CERN Science Gateway: AIding High-School Students in Handling Chances and Risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Artificial intelligence (AI) has added to various scientific fields for years and currently continues to pervade an increasing number of areas of our everyday life. A central aim of
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Milena Vujanovic (2023 – present) Effective professional development in science – the teachers’ perspective
Milena Vujanovic (2023 – present) Effective professional development in science – the teachers’ perspective Every year, CERN offers numerous professional development programmes for high-school science teachers to keep up-to-date with the latest development in particle physics and related areas. Milena’s research will identify the impact of the teacher programmes on the participants themselves by using the
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Panagiota Chatzidaki (2022 – present) Design and evaluation of virtual and interactive physics learning units
Panagiota Chatzidaki (2022 – present) Design and evaluation of virtual and interactive physics learning units Driven by the global pandemic, an increasing need for virtual educational tools has pushed S’Cool LAB towards the development of a new virtual learning format, referred to as ‘’Virtual and Interactive Learning Units’’. These units consist of a combination of
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Ruadh Duggan (2022 – present) Development of an evaluation protocol for assessing the impact of high-quality science shows at Science Gateway
Ruadh Duggan (2022 – present) Development of an evaluation protocol for assessing the impact of high-quality science shows at Science Gateway CERN’s new project, Science Gateway, will open in 2023. In addition to exhibitions and interactive science labs, it will host science shows, through which visitors of all ages will be able to explore their
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Fabian Bernstein (2018 – present) Low-cost modern physics experiments for the classroom: perspectives of students and teachers
Fabian Bernstein (2018 – present) Low-cost modern physics experiments for the classroom: perspectives of students and teachers Fabian is investigating how emerging technologies such as 3D printing or augmented reality can be used to bring modern physics experiments to the classroom. In order to facilitate the use of newly developed hands-on activities, he is also
Completed Doctoral Research Projects
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Merten Dahlkemper (2020 – 2024) The Use of Feynman Diagrams in Physics Education: Opportunities, Challenges, Practices
Merten Dahlkemper (2020 – 2024) The Use of Feynman Diagrams in Physics Education: Opportunities, Challenges, Practices This thesis explores the potential of Feynman diagrams as educational tools in upper secondary physics education, specifically for teaching particle physics concepts. It is set within the design-based research (DBR) framework, meaning learning materials incorporating Feynman diagrams were designed
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Sarah Zöchling (2019 – 2023) Students’ types of interest in physics revisited
Sarah Zöchling (2019 – 2023) Students’ types of interest in physics revisited Fostering students’ interest in physics is an essential part of physics education and has been found to correlate with their achievement and career choices. One important past empirical study, the IPN interest study, introduced students’ types of interest in physics. Yet, past studies
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Anja Kranjc Horvat (2018 – 2022) Particle physics in high-school education: what should students and teachers learn?
Anja Kranjc Horvat (2018 – 2022) Particle physics in high-school education: what should students and teachers learn? Elementary particle physics is a contemporary topic in science that is slowly being integrated into high-school education. These new implementations are challenging teachers’ professional knowledge worldwide. Therefore, physics education research is faced with two important questions, namely, how
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Julia Woithe (2014 – 2020) Designing, measuring and modelling the impact of the hands-on particle physics learning laboratory S’Cool LAB at CERN
Julia Woithe (2014 – 2020) Designing, measuring and modelling the impact of the hands-on particle physics learning laboratory S’Cool LAB at CERN Effects of student and laboratory characteristics on high-school students’ cognitive and affective outcomes: In the framework of this PhD project, S’Cool LAB, a new out-of-school hands-on learning laboratory for high-school students was developed
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Alexandra Jansky (2016 – 2019) Development of a teaching concept on learning about radioactivity: physics phenomena based on randomness and the benefits of new devices
Alexandra Jansky (2016 – 2019) Development of a teaching concept on learning about radioactivity: physics phenomena based on randomness and the benefits of new devices Randomness and probability play a big role in many areas of science. For example, probabilistic statements can only describe quantum mechanical phenomena, such as the decay of an unstable atomic
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Sarah Aretz (2014 – 2018) Development and evaluation of a test instrument to investigate students’ prior knowledge and conceptions in cosmology
Sarah Aretz (2014 – 2018) Development and evaluation of a test instrument to investigate students’ prior knowledge and conceptions in cosmology Cosmology deals with the development of the universe as a whole. Cosmological discoveries in theory and observation have therefore formed our modern scientific worldview. Transferring a modern worldview through science teaching is a frequent
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Jeff Wiener (2013 – 2017) Elementary particle physics in early physics education
Jeff Wiener (2013 – 2017) Elementary particle physics in early physics education Elementary particle physics is a fundamental topic in science, and in particular in science education. However, in most countries, the chapter of particle physics is not necessarily fully integrated in the physics curriculum. Indeed, current physics education research is faced with the important
Completed Master Research Projects
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Hashim Gillani Syed (2019) Development of data serialization and transmission for a pixel detector platform
Hashim Gillani Syed (2019) Development of data serialization and transmission for a pixel detector platform Hashim continued the hardware development for our educational pixel detector platform towards portable use cases. He evaluated and compared data serialisation protocols that can be used directly on energy-efficient embedded systems like memory-constrained microcontrollers. Pixel data transmission over WiFi and local
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Sarah Zöchling (2019) Visualizations in particle physics – Learning aids or obstacles?
Sarah Zöchling (2019) Visualizations in particle physics – Learning aids or obstacles? In teaching particle physics various visualizations are used to illustrate abstract concepts, but little is known on what learners discern from such representations, even though everyday conceptions may be barriers to disciplinary discernment. Sarah analyzed a video about the structure of matter and
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Irtaza Syed (2018) Development of a web-based user interface for measuring and visualising radioactivity
Irtaza Syed (2018) Development of a web-based user interface for measuring and visualising radioactivity Irtaza continued the software development of an intuitive and easy-to-use graphical user interface foundation for an educational platform around the Timpeix3 pixel detector. A streamlined and flexible user interaction design based on Jupyter Lab (implemented in Python) allows students to achieve a
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Mihaly Vadai (2017) Pixel detector bias supply and control using embedded multicore processors
Mihaly Vadai (2017) Pixel detector bias supply and control using embedded multicore processors Mihaly simulated, tested and verified the electronics of a low footprint and low power high voltage bias supply and current monitor for pixelated silicon sensors. The design is based on the LT3905 integrated circuit and an XMOS multi-core processor. It is intended to
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Ankatrin Kirchner (2017) Development and evaluation of a S’Cool LAB workshop on quadrupole ion traps
Ankatrin Kirchner (2017) Development and evaluation of a S’Cool LAB workshop on quadrupole ion traps Ankatrin designed the prototype of a 3D-printable quadrupole ion trap based on existing DIY traps from the University of Mainz. She developed student worksheets in an iterative (re-) design process taking into account students’ conception of electric fields and electric circuits.
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Magnus Reifenrath and Christopher Weller (2016) Development and evaluation of a S’Cool LAB workshop on superconductivity
Magnus Reifenrath and Christopher Weller (2016) Development and evaluation of a S’Cool LAB workshop on superconductivity Magnus and Christopher developed a sequence of experimental tasks about superconductivity. In the framework of their theses, they built a magnetic track and designed different sensors to measure the conductivity of conductors, semiconductors and superconductors at different temperatures. University
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Lukas Mientus (2016) Development and evaluation of a S’Cool LAB workshop on plasma wakefield acceleration
Lukas Mientus (2016) Development and evaluation of a S’Cool LAB workshop on plasma wakefield acceleration Lukas studied students’ conceptions of plasma. Based on the results, he developed a teaching unit about plasma-wakefield-acceleration, a promising new acceleration technique which is currently being studied at CERN in the AWAKE collaboration. University of Potsdam, Prof. A. Borowski
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Daniela Pfeiffer (2016) Development and evaluation of a S’Cool LAB workshop on Positron-Emission-Tomography
Daniela Pfeiffer (2016) Development and evaluation of a S’Cool LAB workshop on Positron-Emission-Tomography Daniela studied students’ interest in medical applications of particle physics. She developed student worksheets for the PET experiment in an iterative (re-) design process taking into account students’ conception of radiation, especially in the medical context. University of Freiburg, Prof. M. Schumacher
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Lea Prüfer (2015) Development and evaluation of a S’Cool LAB workshop on muon detectors
Lea Prüfer (2015) Development and evaluation of a S’Cool LAB workshop on muon detectors Lea studied students’ conceptions of cosmic particles. Based on the results, she developed an experimental workshop about muons using a set of scintillation detectors. University of Munich, Prof. S. Paul