P+: Project-based Physics Lab for Undergraduate Students (PPLUS)

Implementation of the Project/Course

P+ is implemented as a hands-on, project-based physics lab course with a strong emphasis on active student engagement. Unlike traditional labs with pre-built setups and manuals, students start with an empty lab and develop their own experimental projects, from topic selection to measurements and analysis. The responsibility for defining goals, designing experiments, building apparatus, and planning milestones lies with the students. Teaching assistants and lecturers provide flexible support through targeted consultations and «minimally invasive» guidance at various stages of the process, ensuring the feasibility of the experiments and learning outcomes without prescribing solutions or reducing the students‘ autonomy. This approach leads to a high level of active student engagement, with guidance intentionally tapering off over time. In P+, students work in groups of six and complete six experiments over the course of one semester in well-structured two-week cycles. Support is provided through a layered supervision model: Highly motivated student teaching assistants, recruited from previous P+ cohorts, offer daily assistance, while senior TAs ensure scientific quality control and lecturers provide conceptual guidance. This scalable model reduces the workload on technical staff while maintaining quality and sustainability. Feedback is continuous and multi-layered: Student teaching assistants offer timely peer-level feedback, and feasibility checks from technical staff ensure that planned setups are safe and realistic. Short presentations serve as entrance exams for experiment conduction, with peers from other groups and head-TAs offering critical input and suggestions. Students take full ownership of their self-chosen projects, which fosters strong intrinsic motivation and significant investment of effort. They learn collaborative teamwork by coordinating tasks, distributing roles, and resolving conflicts collectively. The course is entirely synchronous, emphasizing real-time collaboration and hands-on lab work. Asynchronous elements are limited to preparatory reading and documentation. Assessment is primarily formative and competence-oriented. Students are evaluated (without grading) on project planning, experimental design, data analysis, teamwork, and communication, rather than on predefined experimental results. Final presentations and written reports serve both as assessment and reflection tools. Key challenges include balancing independence with adequate support and managing the diversity of student projects. Clear scaffolding principles and structured reflection opportunities have proven to be crucial. Recruiting former participants as student teaching assistants has been highly effective for scalability, motivation, and long-term sustainability. P+ thus offers an authentic, student-driven learning environment where feedback, communication, and engagement are integrated into the very structure of the course.

Motivation, Project Mission, Vision Statement

P+ transforms education in experimental physics: This innovative project-oriented lab course was founded with the vision to move beyond traditional lab course experiments, which are taught on fixed setups and defined tasks, thus leaving little room for creativity. We envisioned a student-driven, open-inquiry environment where the students take responsibility and ownership of their projects. Students select their own topics, design and build experimental setups, and carry out experiments, thereby developing skills such as creativity, independence, and problem-solving that are difficult to foster in traditional lab courses.

With support from ETH’s Innovedum initiative, we could introduce an additional supervision layer consisting of student teaching assistants (alumni of P+), thus transforming P+ into a scalable and sustainable alternative to the standard physics lab. The course was received with great enthusiasm by students, as reflected in their feedback and engagement. Also, we could show that the learning goals of traditional lab courses are met and often even surpassed. Our mission is to establish P+ as a model for experiential, inquiry-based teaching in fields even beyond physics, demonstrating that project-based learning can not only teach fundamental experimental competencies but also cultivate a deeper, more lasting scientific mindset, and foster transferable skills such as team work, project planning and interdisciplinary problem solving.

Innovative Elements

P+ replaces step-by-step instructions with self-directed, project-oriented learning: students define their own goals, milestones, and learning paths, supported by scaffolding that shifts from close guidance to independence. This enables the development of skills rarely taught in traditional labs, such as troubleshooting self-built setups, designing experiments, managing comparatively complex projects, and collaborating in stable six-person teams. Access to the physics lab’s extensive inventory, workshop, and technical support allowed students to construct impressive experimental setups.

A further innovation is the role of student teaching assistants, who act both as peers and mentors. Their strong sense of belonging to the group enhances motivation, leading them to exceed expectations, while they also experience significant learning benefits themselves. The result is a dynamic, motivating learning environment that inspires, motivates and drives both students and teaching assistants.

Effects on Student Learning

Surveys and observations, as documented in our publication, show that P+ students achieve at least the same learning goals as in traditional lab classes, with notable gains in experimental design, teamwork, communication, and project management. They report high motivation from self-chosen projects and a steep learning curve through hands-on problem-solving. One student noted “It was by far the most meaningful work for my formation at ETH.” Another said “P+ is everything I love about Physics and experiencing it (…) is phenomenal”. The students report increased confidence in tackling complex experiments, and our own observations indicate students’ progress from guided support to independence, allowing teaching time to focus on in-depth scientific discussion. Despite challenges in quantifying skills across diverse projects, the students’ engagement and motivation to work often far beyond what is required strongly indicate that P+ is a highly effective and innovative learning environment.

Which Elements of Your Project Would You Recommend to Others?

P+ demonstrates that creativity and self-competence foster strong motivation, which in turn drives outstanding learning outcomes. The use of Student Teaching Assistants makes the format scalable, sustainable, and cost-effective, while also providing HTAs with exceptional learning opportunities. Transferable elements include the double-layered supervision model, scaffolding from technical guidance to in-depth discussion, and high student autonomy in topic choice. The structure is not limited to physics; it offers a framework where students continually define their own tasks rather than repeat prescribed exercises. P+ illustrates how project-based learning can be successfully applied to a lab courses, shifting the focus from canonical exercises to real-world problem-solving skills.