Dr. Dykstra has built an impressive body of work focused on improving students’ understanding of science and physics. He began his career as a high school teacher, eventually earning his doctorate. Since coming to Boise State University in 1981, Dr Dykstra has published and presented extensively in the areas of physics education. As a part of his work he has developed and taught a variety of courses including “Alternative Conceptions in Science,” a three credit hour course for secondary science teachers. In 2005 he was one of about five professors chosen to participate in the Science for Monks project, a scientific knowledge and methods workshop requested by His Holiness Dalai Lama. Dr. Dykstra continues to be an active member of the American Association of Physics Teachers, receiving the AAPT Distinguished Service Citation in 2008.
Articles
Unfortunate Outcomes of a “Funny” Physics Problem: Some Eye–Opening YouTube Comments (with Josip Slisko), The Physics Teacher (2011)
The impressions we make as instructors of physics can affect student learning and public perception...
Radical Constructivism Has an Answer - But This Answer Is not an Easy One, Constructivist Foundations (2010)
>Context • In spite of its advantages and its ability to make valid responses to...
What Can We Learn from the Misunderstandings of Radical Constructivism?: Commentary on Slezak’s “Radical Constructivism: Epistemology, Education and Dynamite”, Constructivist Foundations (2010)
>Problem • What alternative strategies from our experiences using a Piaget-based radical constructivist pedagogy might...
Conceptual Development About Motion and Force in Elementary and Middle School Students (with Dale R. Sweet), American Journal of Physics (2009)
Methods of physics education research were applied to find what kinds of changes in 4th,...
Physics Classroom Engagement: Constructing Understanding in Real Time, Latin American Journal of Physics Education (2008)
The dismal results of standard physics teaching found in the research in physics education are...
Books
College Teaching and the Development of Reasoning (with Robert G. Fuller, Thomas C. Campbell, and Scott M. Stevens) (2009)
This book is intended to offer college faculty members the insights of the development of...
Contributions to Books
Science Education, Knowledge & Power in the Global Economy: The Effects of School Reform in a Neoliberal/Neoconservative Age (2008)
Teaching Introductory Physics to College Students, Constructivism: Theory, Perspectives, and Practice (2005)
Teaching Introductory Physics to College Students, Constructivism : Theory, Perspectives, and Practice (1996)
Unpublished Papers
Selected Invited Presentations
Preparing Future Generations: A Bit With Some Promise, Winter Meeting, American Association of Physics Teachers (2011)
Physics Teaching and the Development of Reasoning, Idaho State University, Physics Department Colloquium (2010)