Instead of spending lectures attempting to balance taking notes and trying not to stress about the upcoming exam simultaneously, in 20.109 lectures don't have the ever-present pressure of an upcoming exam. In lieu of trying to take notes and memorize what's being presented, I can just listen to the lecturer and take in the material. It's kind of revolutionary. Plus, the lecturers are talking about things they care about, topics they themselves are working on in their own labs, which makes the environment much more motivated on both the students' and teachers' ends. In this way, 20.109 takes the best of lecture style learning and eliminates the high pressure environment of most lectures. Yet, in contrast to the weekly psets akin to most MIT classes, 20.109 is kind of reminiscent of high school in that it has homework due nearly every class. This takes some getting used to.
How I feel when I get into bed but then realize I have 20.109 homework due tomorrow
But, eventually, I got used to it. In fact, having this type of homework has made me more aware of my schedule.
20.109 is also kind of like a UROP. We get to do all these cool experiments in a low pressure environment, which is really nice. I remember the first time I loaded a gel in my UROP; my hands were shaking so much because I didn't want to mess up in front of my supervisor. But in class, we're there to learn. And yes, you don't want to go messing up every step or not take it seriously, but 20.109 also a friendly environment that makes me feel comfortable. All of these sudden, I have real life course 20 skills and actual methods I can talk about in an interview (either with my parents when they ask what course 20 is or with employers).
20.109 combines all these really unique teaching techniques to become a really weird, cool class. It's not like any other class I've taken at MIT. 20.109 is a recombinant class that is teaching me what it really means to be course 20.
No comments:
Post a Comment