Technology-enabled active learning is a teaching
format that merges lectures, simulations, and hands-on desktop experiments to
create a rich collaborative learning experience. By the fall of 2005, TEAL will
be used for almost all MIT introductory physics instruction. TEAL classes
feature:
- Collaborative learning—students working during class in small groups with shared laptop
computers
- Desktop experiments with data acquisition links to laptops
- Media-rich visualizations and simulations delivered via laptops and the Internet
- Personal response systems that stimulate interaction between students and lecturers
iCampus provides the full set of TEAL software tools, visualizations, course lectures, problem sets, experiments, and concept questions used in MIT's second semester introduction to physics
The iCampus TEAL site also includes the software tools used to illustrate complex electromagnetic phenomenon essential to understanding physics and the Java3D software authoring environment that is used to create the award winning visualizations of electromagnetic field behavior. In addition, the iCampus TEAL project addresses assessing the impact of educational software including assessment plans and approaches to measuring learning benefits from its use.
The pedagogical approach to teaching physics used by TEAL is based on the "studio physics" model. Course content such as lectures, and some related teaching materials for TEAL will be published in Spring 2005 on the MIT OCW site MIT TEAL 8.02 course content on OpencourseWare
