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Project-based learning, involving an interdisciplinary approach, can be applied in the treatment of the content of various teaching subjects. It is also applicable at the university level. The aim of this research was to examine whether project-based learning could enhance students’ motivation to learn physics and their metacognitive awareness. Therefore, a pedagogical experiment with one group was applied. The sample consisted of 94 first-year students from the Faculty of Sciences and the Faculty of Technology at the University of Novi Sad. A pedagogical experiment was applied, and statistical analysis of the collected data was conducted. Project-based learning was implemented in addressing the topic of Diffusion and Osmosis, which involves the integration of content from biology, physics, and chemistry. Students created eighteen projects, and their products were video materials. The data collection technique was the use of a questionnaire. The research results showed that there was no significant difference in students’ motivation before and after the implementation of project-based learning. However, a statistically significant difference was found in students’ metacognition before and after the application of project-based learning. The results of this research suggest the need to encourage the implementation of project-based learning in university education with the aim of increasing students’ metacognitive awareness and further enhancing the implementation of project-based learning to positively impact students’ motivation for learning.

In the course of their studies, students encounter subjects they regard as difficult or less interesting and which they study only reluctantly, often struggling to pass the final exams. It can be assumed that changes in the manner of studying can lead to greater student motivation for studying and better achievement. Our study aimed to examine to what extent students engage in self-initiated cooperative learning, and examine the correlation of self-initiated cooperative learning with student achievement and motivation. The study was carried out with a convenience sample of 32 second-year undergraduate physics students of the Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad. The study was designed as a systematic non-experimental survey, using the questionnaire as a data collection instrument. The results indicate that students engage in self-initiated cooperative learning, but that the expected positive effects of cooperative learning are absent. No correlation was found between the use of cooperative learning and learning motivation and student achievement. Nevertheless, the self-initiated cooperative learning observed can serve as the basis for the further development of cooperative learning. The findings of the study suggest the need to provide students with guidelines on how to prepare for cooperative learning, so that they can benefit from this form of learning.