PhD student in Physics with specialization in Physics Education Research - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The research conducted at the Department of Physics and Astronomy encompasses a wide range of physics topics, distributed over ten divisions. The department is located in the Ångström laboratory and employs nearly 400 people, 125 of whom are doctoral students. It offers a broad physics curriculum to undergraduate and graduate students, participation in nationally and internationally leading projects for researchers, and opportunities for partnership with industry and various outreach activities.

The Physics Education Research Group at Uppsala University works towards a better understanding of factors affecting teaching and learning in physics. The group’s position as an integrated part of the Department of Physics and Astronomy provides unique opportunities for research and development work. The Group has an excellent international reputation, as evidenced by the large number of research articles produced and our sustained success in attracting external funding and awards. More information about the group can be found on our web pages www.physics.uu.se/research/physics-education-research/

Read more about our benefits and what it is like to work at Uppsala University

Duties
The PhD student will investigate conceptual, procedural and epistemological challenges that accompany upper division physics courses (courses beyond the introductory year of studies, such as statistical mechanics, relativity, quantum mechanics, analytical mechanics, optics, etc.) taken by physics, engineering and upper-secondary-school teacher students. This area of research is relatively under-researched in comparison with introductory physics courses, particularly mechanics and thus offers valuable opportunities for novel research and curriculum development. Upper division courses often involve more abstract and advanced mathematical tools and students can rely less on their every-day experiences and intuition, which presents a significant challenge for learning. The PhD student will, among other things, investigate ways in which students make sense when solving problems in these courses. To do this, they will learn and employ a multimodal approach to studying student meaning making which has been developed at UUPER in the recent decades. This will involve among other things, collection and analysis of video, interviews, and classroom observation. The research will have a strong practice-oriented component with the intention to improve future education in these courses. The student will thus also be involved in teaching and curricular development in upper-division physics courses.

PhD students mainly work with their own project/research training. Other work, such as teaching or administrative work is possible up to a maximum of 20% per year. In such cases the post will be extended by the corresponding amount.

Requirements
Applicants shall have a master degree in physics or another subject which is deemed equivalent by the employer. Excellent spoken and written English is expected.

Additional qualifications
Courses of particular relevance for the research post, including physics didactics/physics education research coursework, physics coursework at bachelor's and master's level, as well as independent research projects in physics didactics/physics education research, especially on the topic of upper-division physics courses at university. Publications and presentations at research conferences and symposia in physics education research. Teaching experience at different levels of education. The ability to speak and write well in Swedish is also a merit, since the PhD student will be involved in doing research and teaching in courses where Swedish is the formal language of instruction. Desired traits and abilities: independence, cooperativeness, good communication skills.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date 2022-11-01 or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact: Bor Gregorcic, 0704422811, bor.gregorcic@physics.uu.se.

Please submit your application by 15 August 2022, UFV-PA 2022/2455.