The TEAL Physics Project at MIT

Abstract

Before 2003, the first-year introductory physics courses at MIT were taught using the lecture/recitation model and had inherent problems typical of all large lecture-based physics classes: lectures were passive learning experiences; attendance was low; failure rate was high, and there were no hands-on experiments. In addition, the mathematical level was abstract and difficult for first-year students, and electric and magnetic fields are particularly difficult to visualize impeding understanding. In order to address these problems, MIT introduced the Technology Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) model, in which there is a blending of active learning in the classroom with online materials into a technologically and collaboratively rich environment. In this chapter we describe the structure of the TEAL teaching program: the learning space; the teaching teams; the structure of the blended learning model along with a description of the key active learning components and digital tools; and interdepartmental collaborations on developing design-based experiments. We also describe the growing pains during the implementation of TEAL and the lessons learned about sustaining educational reform.