[1670] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
[Mit-talk] Progress of the Task Force on Undergraduate Educational
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jessica H Lowell)
Wed Nov 16 20:13:02 2005
Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2005 20:12:38 -0500
From: Jessica H Lowell <jessiehl@mit.edu>
To: mit-talk@mit.edu
Errors-To: mit-talk-bounces@mit.edu
I went to the faculty meeting today because I'd heard the Task Force on
Undergrad Educational Commons was going to be giving an update. I figured this
list would be interested in knowing - as would others, so feel free to forward
to dorm/FSILG talk lists and such.
Here's what they said:
- Current GIRs _could_ be changed
- "Expand the educational scope" without increasing the number of requirements
- "Science & Engineering Core" still under construction. Right now, the GIRs
have 6 core subjects and 2 REST subjects. TF wants to "take the two REST
subjects back" and put them in the core.
- "Project-based experiences"
HASS: There's a HASS Overview Committee on the TF, which is ongoing. Right now
they are looking at a more "coordinated" first-year experience with "major
themes" and where "communication-intensive characteristics are embedded". It
sounds like this translates, in implementation, to some sort of large
humanities class, or a few options for a humanities class, that all freshmen
would take. They say they want students to go home and discuss humanities
themes in their dorms. They also intend to simplify the Communication
requirement, and make Concentrations more transparent and more demanding.
It sounds like the way they're thinking the Sci/Engineering Core would work
right now is that there are six different categories, each of which would have
2 or 3 subjects in it:
Math
Physical Sciences
Life Sciences
Chemical Sciences
Computation
Engineering
Students would pick five of these six categories. I'm still unclear on how the
math and phys sci categories work, as I got different info from different
people - anyone on the TF who can clarify? Since they're talking about "taking
back" the 2 REST subjects and making the core 8 subjects, maybe that means you
have to take a math and a phys sci, and one each from 5 of the 6 categories?
For the Computation requirement, there has been discussion about redesigning
6.001 to make it a core class (and 9.01 to make it a core option in Life Sci).
I asked (yay, speaking privileges) whether this meant these classes would be
watered down, and Dean Sibley said no, it would probably mean 6.001 had more of
a focus on algorithms and modularity.
A faculty member asked about the Institute Lab requirement. The answer given
was that the Lab requirement is a "dead subject" and that they intend to
recommend that it be replaced with departmental labs or capstone subjects.
A couple more notes:
- The TF intends to finish in the spring.
- Under their design, AP credit could only be used in math, but advanced
standing exams could be used in other subjects.
If you have comments for the TFUEC, their email is edcommons-request@mit.edu.
If I've made mistakes here, someone on the TF please correct me!
- Jessie
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