Cross Age Peer Tutoring in Physics 2

In a collaboration with four high schools and their students, we are working in a research- and development project on teaching and learning about radiation.

Older students, who are not professional teachers, instruct younger ones in physics and thus increase their own knowledge by teaching. This method of cross age peer tutoring will be examined in four high schools. Together with these students, we will develop teaching materials on teaching radiation and evaluate the effectiveness of the method.

Existing research shows that both tutors and tutees benefit from cross age peer tutoring in optics and electricity. Now we will research whether or not this is also valid for older students and regarding a different topic: invisible radiation.

In the first project year, several upper secondary high school students will conduct own studies in which they investigate the conceptions of younger students. Together with the researchers from the University of Vienna (AECC Physics), the students will develop teaching materials for lower secondary students.

In the second project year, teacher students will work together with upper secondary high school students in a cross age peer tutoring setting. These high school students will, then, work with students from lower secondary. The research will focus on the effects of the methods as well as on the learning processes.

We are looking forward to the project „Cross Age Peer Tutoring 2“.

Duration of the project: 2013 - 2015