by/par A.J. Slavin, Department of Physics, Trent University, Peterborough, ON K9J 7B8
Most physics instructors attempt to make their subject as comprehensible as possible for their students. However, faculty have very limited time to divide between their teaching, scientific research, and administrative duties, so most of us tend to teach the way we were taught in spite of research that has revealed clearly that better options exist. Luckily, there is now a large body of published research that shows which approaches are more successful. In particular, for large lecture settings, those using student-student interaction as part of the learning process have been shown to be superior to a traditional lecture approach, even for instructors who are recognized as being excellent lecturers. This paper will discuss such peer-learning approaches. It will also include a brief survey of the use of interactive teaching methods being used in Canadian universities today.