An Active Learning Approach to Teaching General Relativity to Undergraduates

We present an active learning approach to teaching General Relativity at an undergraduate level as a possible template for teaching other upper-level physics classes. As opposed to using traditional lecture, students regularly work through short concept questions and longer analytical problems during designated class time. Examples are given of activities whereby students break up into pairs or teams to work collaboratively. Pre-class lectures are provided well before class to give students added “sink time” and thereby the chance to formulate more meaningful questions. The goals of this approach are to get students active, maximize participation by all members of the class, and maximize the efficiency of limited class meeting time. Surveys are used to gauge how well these methods are received by students compared to lecture as well as how confident they are in their understanding of the material. Post class learning assessments will compare performance with learning objectives. Lastly, we discuss plans to incorporate lessons learned from this class to another upper-level physics class considered to be conceptually challenging - quantum mechanics.