Teaching and learning
Terrascope (a first-year learning community) and Mission 200X (a first-year course that gives students hands-on experience in applying their introductory science subjects to real problems) are examples of MIT’s commitment to developing new ways to help students learn.
From interactive lectures and recitations to hands-on projects, teamwork, and problem-based learning — MIT’s aim is to help students deepen their understanding of important subjects and master crucial intellectual skills. All the while, the idea is to kindle curiosity and excitement for learning.
Other examples of how MIT is helping today’s students learn better include:
- small-group teaching — akin to the University of Cambridge’s tutorial system;
- WebLab — an online laboratory for studying microelectronic devices that allows students to collect, analyze, and compare data remotely over the Internet; and
- Technology Enabled Active Learning, or TEAL — which merges lectures, simulations, and hands-on desktop experiments to create a rich, colalborative learning experience.
As part of its commitment to enhancing the undergraduate educational commons, MIT has established these priorities for teaching and learning:
- Shift the focus from teaching (what instructors put in) to learning (what students take out);
- encourage students to understand their own learning and to take more responsibility for it; and
- undertake research on how people learn, in order to inform teaching.
To discuss a special gift to MIT’s teaching and learning initiatives, please contact Lori Breslow, director, Teaching and Learning Laboratory, at lrb@mit.edu or 617.253.3780.
[ top ] |
