Teaching & Learning Laboratory: TLL
TLL began in 1997 as a resource for faculty, administrators, and students who share a desire to improve teaching and learning at MIT.
Our goals are to strengthen the quality of instruction at the Institute; better understand the process of learning in higher education; conduct research that has immediate applications both inside and outside of the classroom; support assessment and evaluation efforts; serve as a clearinghouse to disseminate information on national and international efforts in science and engineering education; and aid in the creation of new and innovative curricula, pedagogy, technologies, and methods of assessment.
We offer workshops on a variety of topics related to teaching and learning for faculty, teaching assistants, and students, administer the Class Videotaping and Consulting Program, and provide consultations to individual faculty members, faculty and staff committees, and departments.
We are also responsible for assessing many of the educational innovations MIT has undertaken over the last several years. The initiatives include the introduction of problem-based learning in a number of freshman subjects; experiments in small-group learning, particularly in the department of mechanical engineering; and the use of educational technologies such as iLabs, which allows for the access of online laboratories so that experiments can be done remotely.
All of this work contributes to our broad research agenda which is to understand how learning in science, engineering, the social sciences, and the humanities takes place. We collaborate with faculty, intructional staff, graduate and undergraduate students to explore learning both inside and outside of the classroom. We disseminate findings to the MIT communityso they may be used to strengthen teaching and learning throughout the Institute.
Former UROPs who have worked for us have contributed to this research by:
- Conducting extensive literature reviews on the impact of educational technology in higher education.
- Exploring how to analyze the contents of a discussion board to understand the best utilization of that technology.
- Examining the design and use of simulations in science and engineering classes.
TLL staff members have graduate level training in education, physics, materials science, engineering, psychology, and communication.
We invite you to help us with our work in improving teaching and learning in higher education.
