Possible applications of peer learning in physics lectures at Lund University

Abstract

The traditional lecture can be quite ineective in conveying concep-
tual understanding and promoting a deep approach to learning in stu-
dents. Students might also suer from a drop in attentiveness during long
lectures. Peer-learning methods involve organized student interaction to
promote active learning and the discussion of new concepts in small peer
groups. The purpose of this work is to review lecture-based peer-learning
methods from the pedagogical literature and investigate their possible im-
plementation as part of physics lectures at Lund University. Two main
methods are studied, peer learning combined with clicker polling and peer
learning in conjunction with physics demonstrations. The benets and
costs of the two methods are assessed. We nd that both methods are
promising as additions to the standard lecture, and recommend that they
be tested in courses in Lund.