In the design of a curriculum, each course should have a well-understood role and relationship to the other courses, and clearly defined, student-centered objectives, stated in terms of learning outcomes for knowledge, skills and attitudinal outcomes [1]. The Report of the Task Force on Undergraduate Educational Commons [2] at MIT, which made recommendations to revamp the common educational experiences of our students, recommended an optional first year project-based course. Currently, planning and pilots are being conducted of such a course.
The authors conducted a survey to determine the degree of community consensus on the desired learning outcomes for a first year project-based experience.
In order to better understand the community view of the role of project-based learning in the first year, we chose to survey the principal stakeholders of such an offering, i.e. those students and faculty who have a significant stake in its outcome. Voluntary interviews were conducted with representatives of four faculty stakeholder groups: leaders of academic enterprises; leaders of undergraduate programs; those directly teaching similar courses; and members of the Task Force on Undergraduate Commons, Committee on Undergraduate Programs, and Committee on Curricula.
The Task Force was an ad hoc group that met for two years, and delivered a report outlining a new vision for the shared experiences of MIT students. The other two standing committees deal with the policy and curricular oversight of the undergraduate education. In addition current seniors, newly arrived freshmen, and high school seniors interested in MIT were interviewed.
Conceive
Design
Implement
Operate
