Venturing outside the norm to engage learners

In John's August Newsletter

Lecture slide from Nuclear Science Professor Michael Shortâs cheese-tasting class.

Venturing outside the norm to engage learners

Why did you become a teacher? For most people, the opportunity to catalyze studentsâ curiosity about the world into understanding was a major factor in deciding to pursue education as a profession. When you entered the classroom for your first year of teaching, you probably discovered quickly that before students could learn anything, they first had to focus their attention on what you were teaching. This was easier said than done!

Cultivating and sustaining studentsâ attention to the myriad nuances of the curricular content and experiences you were developing most likely consumed most of your energy that first year in the classroom. I, for one, remember remaining at schoolâlong after cars had cleared the parking lotâto construct a life-sized tree out of paper and masking tape. It was a novice educatorâs attempt to pull students into a series of complex literacy experiences. It worked, but boy, was it exhausting.

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21M.299 The Beatles (New Course) This class surveys the music of the Beatles, from the bandâs early years to the break-up of the group, mapping how the Beatleâs musical style changed from skiffle and rock to studio-based experimentation. Cultural influences that helped to shape them, as well as the groupâs influence worldwide, will be a continuous theme.

11.S943 Development, Planning, and Implementation: The Dialectic of Theory and Practice (New Course) This advanced graduate-level seminar will analyze the effectiveness of development and planning theories from the perspective of practitioners who implement projects and policies based on such theories.

17.801 Political Science Scope and Methods (Updated Course) Designed to provide an introduction to a variety of empirical research methods used by political scientists, the primary aims of the course are to make you a more sophisticated consumer of diverse empirical research and to allow you to conduct advanced independent work in junior and senior years.

2.61 Internal Combustion Engines (New Course) This course studies the fundamentals of how the design and operation of internal combustion engines affect their performance, efficiency, fuel requirements, and environmental impact. Topics include fluid flow, thermodynamics, combustion, heat transfer and friction phenomena, and fuel properties, with reference to engine power, efficiency, and emissions.

14.770 Introduction to Political Economy (New Course) Intended as an introduction to the field of political economy, this is the first part of a two-part sequence in political economy, along with 14.773 Political Economy: Institutions and Development. Combined, the purpose of the two classes is to give you both a sense of the frontier research topics and a good command of the tools in the area.

STS.032 Energy, Environment, and Society: Global Politics, Technologies, and Ecologies of the Water-Energy-Food Crises (New Course) With increasing public awareness of the multiple effects of global environmental change, the terms water, energy, and food crisis have become widely used in scientific and political debates on sustainable development and environmental policy. Although each of these crises has distinct drivers and consequences, providing sustainable supplies of water, energy, and food are deeply interrelated challenges and require a profound understanding of the political, socioeconomic, and cultural factors that have historically shaped these interrelations at a local and global scale.

Emulating the Beatles, learning from each other: An interview with Teresa Neff

MIT juniors and seniors recently had the opportunity to take a deep dive into the musical world of the Beatles. Students enrolled in 21M.299 The Beatles surveyed the music of this iconic band, mapping how the Beatlesâ musical style changed from skiffle and rock to studio-based experimentation. They examined the cultural influences that shaped the band, as well as the groupâs influence worldwide. While some of the students had prior experience with music analysis, others did not. Yet, a spirit of collaboration pervaded the course and enhanced the written analyses students completed on a weekly basis. So how did this happen?

We interviewed the instructor of the course, Music and Theater Arts Lecturer Dr. Teresa Neff, to find out how she facilitated learning experiences to meet the needs of students with diverse skill sets. You can read excerpts from our interview below. Whether youâre an educator facing a similar situation, a Beatles fanâor bothâwe think youâll enjoy listening in on the conversation.

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