Apple of his Eye
Ed Vetter, ’42, gave MIT an apple tree that is a direct descendant of the tree under which Isaac Newton sat when he is said to have conceived the theory of gravity. “I couldn’t think of a better place...
View ArticleResearch Briefs
Really Big Chill A group of MIT physicists has achieved the lowest temperature ever in a lab, and possibly in the universe. The new record is 500 picokelvin — a half- billionth of a degree above...
View ArticleTEAL Teaching
Technology Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) is transforming physics education
View ArticleMutual Gain
Prof. Larry Vale teaches urban design. “If I don’t make eye contact with people, I lose them,” says Vale, whose students don’t doze. He is famous for constantly shifting the presentation — from lecture...
View ArticlePositive Reinforcement
“Congratulations! You did a great job. You mastered the concepts. You reached your learning goal!” That’s how Dava Newman talks to students. “Knowing what you did right builds confidence. I’m a big...
View ArticleMaking the Abstract Concrete
“I like to make a personal connection with students. It establishes a lovely rapport,” says Hazel Sive, who learns students’ names and makes a special effort to know students one-to-one. An associate...
View ArticleRhythm of Teaching
“My whole focus is to get students to the point where they don’t need me,” says Marcus Thompson, adding that his goal as a teacher is to empower young people with the knowledge, confidence, and skills...
View ArticleThe Student Perspective
Prof. Andy Lo learned early about great teaching. “My third grade teacher changed my life. She saw something more in me than I saw in myself,” says this finance expert who in elementary school was...
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