Project-based learning in a BYU laboratory course

In order to align the physics labs curriculum at Brigham Young University with AAPT recommendations for the Undergraduate Physics Laboratory Curriculum, we have been restructuring our lab courses to be project-based, as opposed to concept-focused. Project-based labs offer unique opportunities to engage students in a wide array of cognitive tasks that are important to experimental physics, such as establishing goals, designing experiments, and analyzing results. While project-based labs more naturally incorporate these tasks, instructors can enhance the effectiveness of a course by identifying a subset of tasks and designing the course to target the skills necessary to achieve them. I will discuss our approach to implementing project-based labs into our courses. As an example, I will describe a course that focuses on teaching students how to establish research goals, define criteria, and assess feasibility. The course structure provides multiple opportunities for peer and instructor feedback as students develop their ideas. The feedback process mirrors authentic practices within the scientific community and has resulted in significant improvements in both the success rate and quality of student-designed projects and presentations.