About

Lei Bao is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Physics at The Ohio State University. His areas of expertise include cognitive science, assessment, mental models, and curriculum within the field of Physics Education Research. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from SouthEast University in Nanjing, China, obtained in 1990, and further earned an M.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1992 and an M.S. in Physics in 1996 from the University of Maryland at College Park. He completed his Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Maryland in 1999. Professor Bao's professional work involves research in physics education, focusing on understanding and improving how students learn physics through assessment and curriculum development. His contributions are centered on applying cognitive science principles to physics education, aiming to enhance teaching methods and student understanding. He is associated with the Department of Physics at Ohio State, where he has contributed to the academic community through research, mentorship, and curriculum development.

Research topics

• Computer science
• Mathematics education
• Biology
• Psychology
• Ecology

Selected publications

• Boosting tiger re-ID with 360∘ video generation: A generative synthesis approach

  Neurocomputing · 2026-04-25

  articleCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Exploring the role of human-AI collaboration in solving scientific problems

  Physical Review Physics Education Research · 2025-05-08 · 10 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  [This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Artificial Intelligence Tools in Physics Teaching and Physics Education Research.] Recent research in science education has largely focused on using ChatGPT to solve problems and evaluating its accuracy and problem-solving features. However, as artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an important tool for human development, effective strategies for learning and education using human-AI collaboration (HAI) learning remain underexplored. HAI is emerging as a powerful tool for enhancing educational outcomes, especially with the integration of advanced natural language AI systems such as ChatGPT-4o. This study explores the role of HAI in solving scientific problems, comparing its efficacy with human-human collaboration (HHC) among high school students. We employed two different groups: one using HAI with ChatGPT-4o, and the other using HHC, focusing on their performance in scientific knowledge and scientific thinking tasks. Results showed that while both collaboration methods significantly improved students’ performance in solving scientific problems, HHC exhibited a greater effect size compared to HAI. The use of ChatGPT-4o was particularly noted for its ability to provide interactive learning experiences and guide students through problem solving; however, challenges such as inconsistencies in responses and image recognition hindered its effectiveness. Additionally, students tended to use ChatGPT-4o as a tool for obtaining answers rather than engaging in deeper collaborative explorations. This study underscores the importance of developing targeted training for students in effectively collaborating with AI tools. The results can also provide useful information for future exploration on methods to strengthen HHC by integrating AI tools, leveraging the strengths of both approaches to enhance education outcomes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Can contextualized physics problems enhance student motivation?

  Physical Review Physics Education Research · 2025-06-23

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Embedding physics problems in real-world settings—here termed contextualized physics problems (CPPs)—is widely believed to foster students’ interest, motivation, and learning. However, firm evidence for this claim remains scarce. To explore this issue, we surveyed 868 secondary students and 154 teachers to examine their attitudes toward CPP and investigate whether students and teachers perceive these problems as promoting student interest and motivation in learning physics. The findings reveal a divergence between teacher and student perspectives. While most teachers view CPP as essential for enhancing interest and motivation, student responses tell a different story. Contextualized problems appear to boost interest and motivation only among 8th graders who are newly introduced to the subject. From 9th to 11th grade, students expressed a clear preference for decontextualized physics problems and generally disagreed that CPP increased their interest in physics. Gender differences were also observed among younger students, with boys showing a moderately stronger preference for CPP than girls. These results provide valuable insights for educators in designing course materials and creating effective test and exercise questions. The discrepancy between teacher and student perceptions, as highlighted by the surveys and interviews, underscores the need to address this gap through targeted teacher training and professional development.

  PublisherDOI

• From Context Dependence to Scientific Understanding: Modeling Students’ Learning Progressions of Force Concepts via Latent Transition Analysis

  X-Disciplinarity · 2025-05-18

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  In response to ongoing calls in physics and science education to support conceptual change and promote deeper scientific understanding, research on learning progressions (LPs) has increasingly focused on modeling how students' conceptual reasoning evolves over time. However, substantial evidence indicates that novice learners' understanding remains fragmented and highly sensitive to contextual features. This study investigates the relationship between students’ conceptual development and their dependence on context by employing a person-centered analytical method—Latent Transition Analysis (LTA). Pre- and post-test data were collected from 474 students enrolled in a calculus-based introductory physics course, using eight items selected from the 1995 version of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). These items targeted two fundamental conceptual domains: Force and Motion (F&M) and Newton’s Third Law (NTL). The analysis identified four latent statuses for F&M and five for NTL, representing qualitatively distinct levels of understanding ranging from naïve to near-scientific. Results indicate a clear pattern: as students’ conceptual understanding progressed, their reliance on surface-level contextual features decreased. These findings suggest a dynamic and interdependent relationship between conceptual development and context sensitivity. This study demonstrates the potential of LTA to reveal developmental trajectories in students’ conceptual understanding and underscores the importance of incorporating contextual features in both instructional design and diagnostic assessment strategies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Automatic Tongue Image Segmentation with No Labels

  Smart innovation, systems and technologies · 2025-01-01

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Representations of Nature of Science in Chinese Physics Curriculum Standards over the Past Two Decades

  Science & Education · 2025-01-09 · 9 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Abstract The importance of nature of science (NOS) for promoting science literacy and its fundamental role in science education are widely acknowledged. Employing the analytical framework of the family resemblance approach (FRA), which conceptualizes NOS as a combination of cognitive-epistemic and social-institutional systems involving 11 NOS categories, this study investigates how NOS are represented within three successive versions of Chinese physics curriculum standards over the past two decades. To offer a comprehensive view, the epistemic network analysis (ENA) is also utilized to visually depict and compare the evolving frequency of connections among the NOS categories over time. The result reveals a consistent underrepresentation of the social-institutional system, notably marked by the absence of three categories: professional activities, social organizations and interactions, and financial systems. However, there is a slight upward trend observed in social categories of NOS, indicating a growing awareness of this imbalance. The ENA analysis further demonstrates a steady increase in connections among NOS categories within the physics curriculum standards, while connections are more frequent and extensive within the cognitive-epistemic system compared to the social-institutional system. These findings provide valuable insights for the enhancement of the current physics curriculum standards, aiming to establish a more comprehensive and progressive approach to NOS education. As China’s curriculum reform advances, addressing the insufficient representations of NOS through the FRA lens can help foster a deeper understanding of nature of science, ultimately promoting science literacy among students.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Promoting knowledge integration in work and mechanical energy through conceptual framework and cooperative learning instruction

  Physical Review Physics Education Research · 2025-06-06 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Achieving knowledge integration for deep learning requires students to construct well-connected knowledge structures by understanding and applying the central ideas of a concept. However, research on student learning in work and mechanical energy reveals persistent challenges in grasping fundamental concepts, particularly in connecting the work-energy theorem, potential energy, and the principle of conservation of mechanical energy. This study investigates the effectiveness of two instructional interventions based on the conceptual framework of work and mechanical energy: one employing lecture-based instruction and the other incorporating a cooperative learning approach. The findings provide strong evidence that the conceptual framework is an effective tool for guiding instruction to promote knowledge integration. Additionally, the use of cooperative learning instruction was shown to further enhance students’ ability to connect concepts and develop deep understanding, offering valuable insights for designing instructional strategies aimed at fostering knowledge integration.

  PublisherDOI

• Comparative Analysis of Engineering Elements in Five Chinese Junior High School Physics Textbooks

  Science & Education · 2025-05-08

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Student difficulties and alternative conceptions in learning particle motion in force fields

  Physical Review Physics Education Research · 2025-07-08

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Understanding particle motion in force fields (PMFF), which encompasses the nature of forces and the relationship between force and motion, is fundamental to mastering mechanics and electromagnetism. Effectively solving PMFF-related problems requires advanced reasoning skills and the ability to apply knowledge across diverse contexts. Despite evidence that students often encounter significant challenges with these concepts, comprehensive assessment tools to reliably evaluate their understanding remain limited. In high school and introductory college physics courses, the most commonly studied force fields include those generated by a point mass or a point charge, as well as uniform gravitational, electric, and magnetic fields. The basic types of motion observed in these fields include uniform linear motion, uniformly accelerated rectilinear motion, uniformly accelerated curvilinear motion, and uniform circular motion. This study developed a nine-item multiple-choice test designed to assess students’ understanding of PMFF concepts. Data were collected from 34 college physics majors using test scores, interviews, and eye-tracking technology. The analysis revealed several alternative conceptions that varied depending on the specific force field context. Students performed relatively well in uniform force field scenarios but faced significant difficulties with fields generated by a point mass or a point charge, as well as uniform magnetic fields. In fields of a point mass or point charge, common misconceptions centered on uniformly accelerated motion. In the uniform magnetic field context, students often struggled to differentiate between uniform linear motion and uniformly accelerated curvilinear motion. Eye-tracking data provided additional insights, revealing attention patterns that corroborated the observed difficulties. These findings highlight critical areas where students face challenges in understanding PMFF. The results can guide future research efforts to develop targeted educational interventions aimed at addressing these specific learning difficulties, ultimately improving student comprehension of PMFF concepts.

  PublisherDOI

• Assessment of preservice physics teachers’ knowledge of student understanding of force and motion

  Physical Review Physics Education Research · 2024-05-31 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  In physics education, a number of studies have developed assessments of teachers’ knowledge of student understanding (KSU) of specific physics concepts with modified versions of existing concept inventories, in which teachers were asked to predict the popular incorrect answers from students. The results provide useful but indirect information to make inferences about teachers’ knowledge of the misconceptions that students may be using in answering the questions. To improve the assessment of teachers’ KSU, a new instrument is developed using a three-tier item design. The items were adapted from 17 questions from the Force Concept Inventory on force and motion. Each item was designed in three tiers, with tier 1 asking for teachers’ own answers to the question to test their content knowledge, tier 2 asking for teachers’ predictions of popular students’ incorrect answers, and tier 3 asking for teachers’ explanations of students’ incorrect answers in an open-ended form. The three-tier design captures teachers’ content knowledge, predictions, and explanations in a single item to allow explicit measures of teachers’ own content knowledge and their KSU on students’ misconceptions. The instrument was validated with preservice physics teachers, who were master-level graduate students in a normal university in China. The assessment results also suggest that the preservice teachers’ KSU of force and motion was only moderately developed, and their content knowledge was uncorrelated with their KSU. In addition, a four-level progression scale of KSU was also developed, which categorized the preservice teachers into five proficiency groups. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant RC1RR028402

  NIH · $972k · 2013

• Developing Scientific Reasoning Assessment Tools for STEM Education and Teacher Preparation

  NSF · $200k · 2010–2015

• Collaborative Research: Advancing Scientific Reasoning in Online and In-Person Introductory Physics Labs

  NSF · $268k · 2022–2025

• Virtual Experiments for Physics Labs

  NSF · $100k · 2007–2012

• Assessing Students' Integration of Knowledge for Deep Learning in Physics

  NSF · $300k · 2022–2025

Frequent coauthors

• Tianming Wang

  Beijing Normal University

  30 shared

• Jianping Ge

  30 shared

• Yang Xiao

  29 shared

• Kathleen Koenig

  University of Cincinnati

  23 shared

• Shaona Zhou

  19 shared

• Jing Han

  19 shared

• Hongfang Wang

  Shandong Agricultural University

  19 shared

• Jianping Ge

  18 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Physics

  University of Maryland, College Park

  1999