Reimagining University Physics and Astronomy: Educational Methods for the Years Ahead

University physics and astronomy programmes are in a period of rapid transition. Shifts in student demographics, technological acceleration, and growing interdisciplinarity are reshaping what it means to learn and teach these disciplines at tertiary level. Students now enter university with increasingly varied prior experiences, expectations, and levels of preparation, while also encountering environments that demand higher levels of quantitative reasoning, computational fluency, and conceptual sophistication. At the same time, developments such as generative AI, data‑rich modelling, and research‑connected curricula are challenging educators to rethink traditional methods of teaching, learning, and assessment. These pressures make clear the need for robust, evidence‑based insights into how physics and astronomy can be taught most effectively in contemporary higher education. This Research Topic provides a timely forum to consolidate emerging research, evaluate innovative practices, and articulate possibilities for reimagining educational methods in the years ahead.The aim of this Research Topic is to advance understanding of how students learn physics and astronomy at university level and to identify educational methods that improve engagement, inclusion, and conceptual understanding. We seek to address fundamental questions about what effective teaching and assessment look like in mathematically intensive, conceptually demanding scientific disciplines. We encourage studies that explore how to design learning environments that support diverse learners, develop curiosity, and allow students to build increasingly sophisticated disciplinary thinking from introductory to advanced levels. We also invite research that evaluates the impact of active learning strategies, authentic assessment, and technology enhanced pedagogies, including the role of generative AI in shaping learning, teaching, feedback, and assessment practices. By bringing together diverse methodological approaches and institutional voices, this collection seeks to reimagine what effective university‑level physics and astronomy education could become.We invite contributions focused on educational methods, practices, and learning experiences in university physics and astronomy. Topics may include (but are not limited to):• studies on how students learn physics and astronomy from introductory to advanced levels; • evaluations of active learning, problem based learning, and laboratory or project based approaches;• inclusive and equitable teaching practices, including approaches that address attainment gaps and diverse learner needs; • assessment design, authentic assessment, feedback practices, and links between assessment and disciplinary identity;• comparative studies across institutions, countries, programme structures, or student groups;• the impact of generative AI on teaching, learning, workload, assessment and feedback;• innovative case studies or curriculum design interventions;• forward looking analyses of the future of university physics and astronomy education;• research on developing curiosity, engagement, motivation, and belonging within university physics and astronomy;• integration of citizen‑science activities into undergraduate teaching and learning.We welcome empirical research, case studies, theoretical or conceptual analyses, methodological papers, and perspectives. Topic editors: Nicolas Labrosse, Manjula Sharma, Cecilia STARI, Henry Sun, Pornrat Wattanakasiwich Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78443/reimagining-university-physics-and-astronomy-educational-methods-for-the-years-ahead