Do you have class? by Anthony R. '09

I do.

Well, the academic sort, anyway. ;-)

Here’s what I’m taking (with some photos, too.)

1.A24: You CAN Get There From Here!
This is a freshman advising seminar with Professor Nigel Wilson and Senior Research Associate Carl Martland, from MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. 1.A24 meets every Monday at 3:30, and promises to personally introduce its attendees to the world of transportation, as seen through the eyes of a potential civil engineering student. Though the seminar ends in December, Professor Wilson will remain the students’ first-year advisor. The idea behind freshman advising seminars is one of the student and advisor getting to know each other through some applied meeting of the minds, in a more thorough fashion than otherwise possible in a traditional advising relationship. Anthony’s take: this looks like a *very* promising way to get well acquainted with transportation research and study at MIT, and with the department as a whole.

3.091: Introduction to Solid State Chemistry
Taught by the esteemed Professor Donald Sadoway from MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, this course promises to provide a more applied approach to introductory chemistry for those who aren’t planning to go into a field of study requiring the more theoretical 5.111/5.112. Professor Sadoway comes highly regarded for his engaging lecture style. This course isn’t graded on a curve, and 50/100 is a passing grade. If you’re a freshman (and thus on pass/no record grades), and are taking the class in the fall semester, your transcript will look the same whether you get a 50 in the class or a 100 in the class. I’m not terribly crazy about chemistry, so this suits me just fine.

Scenes from 3.091:

(recitation)

8.01: Physics I (Classical Mechanics)
Taught by one of many instructors using the new Technology Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) format, this is the standard introductory physics course offered to freshmen at MIT. Held in one of two classrooms (the newest being in the basement of the famous Stata Center), the TEAL format offers a more hands-on approach that promotes group learning and collaboration. Students sit at tables of nine, each with three computers to form three learning groups per table. Using electronically-projected whiteboards and wireless answer devices (a virtual equivalent to “raising your hand”), students can follow along with the instructor’s lesson while utilizing their computers to explore the subject matter. This hands-on approach combines both lecture and recitation into single two-hour class periods. An online homework system called Mastering Physics is used extensively and allows for assignments to be due at various weekend times. :-)

In these images, the students of Table 7 participate in a force experiment utilizing springs and elastic bands.

18.01: Calculus (single-variable)
This is the standard introductory math course for freshmen at MIT, combining traditional subject matter of AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC into one semester. Lectures and recitations are one hour each and appear on alternating days, providing for a daily calculus experience. Many students instead enroll in an accelerated 18.01A/18.02A (Single and Multivariable Calculus) or 18.02 (Multivariable Calculus) class, as their pre-MIT math exposure was adequate enough to comprise some or all of 18.01’s material.

(recitation)

21W.784: Becoming Digital [Writing about Media Change]
This writing class, designated Communication Intensive (CI), conveniently satisfies part of the freshman humanities requirement at MIT. If you pass the Freshman Essay Evaluation over the summer, or otherwise can waive it with Advanced Placement credit, a wide range of humanities classes is at your disposal through a summer lottery system. Becoming Digital, taught by Aden Evens, assistant professor of Writing and Humanistic Studies, considers the cultural, societal, and physical implications of the evolution and development of various forms of media. Formats include photography, film, television, music, and even the telephone. The class is new to MIT this year and has less than eighteen students. This course looks fascinating — it should sit comfortably next to my advising seminar on my list of favorites for the year.

East Campus sponsored a tasty ice cream dessert in the courtyard the other night, and looking around at the remnants of REX activities really helped drive home the notion that the school year is in full swing :- … but hey, I didn’t come to MIT to play around, anyway.

Jon from Second East likes his ice cream.

Back to you this weekend with a fun journey into late-night nourishment :-)