MIT students are excellent problem-solvers, but sometimes finding a solution to a problem is not enough—you’ve also got to communicate your ideas to other people, many of whom may not have the technical expertise or experience (or even interest) to understand the problem or its solution in detail. Subject 1.016 is designed to help students acquire and strengthen their skills at communicating technical information to broad audiences, including policy-makers, opinion leaders and the general public. It also gives students the opportunity to participate in a complete design/engineer/build process, from initial brainstorming through prototyping to final construction.

Students in 1.016 are all members of the Terrascope freshman learning community, and they have all taken MIT subject 12.000, “Solving Complex Problems.” In 12.000, they spend the fall semester developing a solution to a complex problem, usually one strongly linked to environmental issues. In the process, they become deeply knowledgeable about all aspects of the problem—not just the scientific and technical issues, but political, economic, social and cultural ones as well. In 1.016, they use that expertise in a new way, identifying the topics that are most important to communicate to the general public and then designing and building interactive exhibits that engage, excite and educate.

Why Museum Exhibits?
Museum exhibits are a unique combination of engineering and communication. Well-designed exhibits are extremely effective ways to communicate with general audiences, but creating a good exhibit requires skills in design, fabrication, prototyping and construction—key in any engineering discipline. Subject 1.016 thus gives students an experience and skill-set that they can draw on no matter what field they eventually decide to pursue. And in the meantime their exhibits inform, interest and entertain members of the MIT community and the public. Many of the exhibits have been adopted by museums, aquariums and other institutions, so 1.016 students’ work lives on in new forms and settings.



How the Class Works
Like all Terrascope classes, 1.016 is driven largely by the students’ own interest and enthusiasm. And as in all Terrascope classes, students work in teams, developing and honing the team-building and internal-communication skills that will be so important to them in their later years at MIT and beyond. Once given the overall task, it is up to the student teams to decide how to approach it. They research and develop exhibit content, they draw up plans, they build and test prototypes, and they design and fabricate the final exhibits. Along the way they are assisted by instructors, undergraduate teaching fellows and staff from the MIT Libraries. But the ideas, work and final products are all their own. For a more detailed view of course mechanics, you can see this year’s syllabus and list of assignments.

What’s Happening in the Class Now?
To find out, check out our blog! For current students, the Stellar class-management page is here.

Beyond MIT
Terrascope, 12.000 and 1.016 have an impact beyond the MIT students they serve. Of course there is the students’ work, which enters the national and global discussion of the issues at hand. In addition, though, Terrascope serves as a model of a project-based, team-oriented learning community. We conduct detailed assessment of the program every year, and from that we gain new knowledge about what makes this kind of learning environment most effective. Here is a list of our publications in this rapidly-growing area of educational research.