Welcome
The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has established The Learning Incubator (LInc), whose mission is innovation of pedagogy in engineering and science. More
Call for Proposals: LInc Faculty Fellowships 2024-2025
Submission Deadline: 2/5/24
The Learning Incubator (LInc) is pleased to announce a Call for Proposals for LInc Faculty Fellowships for the 2024-2025 Academic Year. A LInc Faculty Fellowship permits faculty to dedicate time normally devoted to teaching a course to the (re)-design of an existing course to implement new research-based pedagogies and improve learning gains. More
LInc Announces Recipients of 2023-2024 Faculty Fellowships
Congratulations to Petros Koumoutsakos, PhD; Yue Lu, PhD; Linsey Moyer, PhD; Michael Mitzenmacher, PhD, Rebecca Nesson, PhD, JD and who have each been awarded the LInc Faculty Fellowship for the academic year 2023-2024 - and to Patrick Slade, PhD who will be a LInc Associate for the academic year 2023-2024.
2023-2024
Petros Koumoutsakos, PhD
LInc Faculty Fellow
Herbert S. Winokur, Jr. Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Area Chair for Applied Mathematics
Course: General Education course in Computational Thinking
Course Design: Spring 2024
Course Implementation: Fall 2024 / Spring 2025
Yue Lu, PhD
LInc Faculty Fellow
Gordon McKay Professor of Electrical Engineering and of Applied Mathematics
Course: ES 150: Introduction to Probability with Engineering Applications
Course Re-Design: Fall 2023
Course Implementation: Spring 2024
Linsey Moyer, PhD
LInc Faculy Fellow
Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies in Biomedical Engineering; Lecturer on Biomedical Engineering
Course: ES 53: Quantitative Physiology as a Basis for Bioengineering
Course Re-Design: Spring 2024
Course Implementation: Fall 2024
Michael Mitzenmacher, PhD
LInc Faculty Fellow
Thomas J. Watson, Sr. Professor of Computer Science CS 20: Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science
Course: CS 20: Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science
Course Re-Design: Fall 2023
Course Implementation: Co-teaching Spring 2024; offering it both semesters 2024-2025 onwards
Rebecca Nesson, PhD, JD
LInc Faculty Fellow
Dean for Academic Programs; Associate Senior Lecturer on Computer Science CS 20: Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science
Course: CS 20: Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science
Course Re-Design: Fall 2023
Course Implementation: Co-teaching Spring 2024; offering it both semesters 2024-2025 onwards
Patrick Slade, PhD
LInc Associate
Assistant Professor of Bioengineering
Course: Biomechanics of Movement (ES 126/226)
Reflections from LInc Faculty Fellows
Owning Participation
Michael D. Smith, John H. Finley, Jr. Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, LInc Faculty Fellow (2020-2021)
Many of us value student participation in our classes. It reflects student engagement with our course material, and it is a critical component of active learning—both of which we all know are fundamental to student learning and success. But how do we encourage students to participate meaningfully in our classes? How do we send the signal that participation matters without making it all about the grade or a game of guess-what-the-instructor-values? In answering these questions, I'll talk about a successful reboot of participation and participation grading in my discussion-focused course. Presentation - LInc Exchange - Reimagining Teaching and Learning at Harvard - View Video
Salil Vadhan, Vicky Joseph Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, LInc Faculty Fellow (2020-2021) & Lead PI on Harvard’s Privacy Tools Project, teaches COMPSCI 120: Introduction to Algorithms and their Limitations, a new introductory course in theoretical computer science “aimed at giving students the power of using mathematical abstraction and rigorous proof to understand computation with confidence.” Many computer science students are “builders” who enjoy the creative aspect of the field, yet their mathematical backgrounds are often quite diverse; to some, mathematical theory is unfamiliar. In redesigning the undergraduate computer science curriculum, it was a priority to make this “new language, reasoning, and way of thinking” accessible to students early in the program. Read More
Designing the classroom for deeper student engagement and feedback on learning
L Mahadevan, Lola England de Valpine Professor of Applied Mathematics in SEAS, and Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, and of Physics in FAS used his SEAS Learning Incubator LInc Faculty Fellowship to emphasize active learning in his Mathematical Modeling course. He implemented a flipped classroom approach to enable students to come to class with problems and questions to collaborate on, time to develop their own problems from scratch, and work on modeling with peers. - More
Instrumental Lessons in Engineering
Rob Wood, SEAS LInc Faculty Fellow and Charles River Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences has implemented his newly designed course, Engineering the Acoustical World. Read More - Instrumental Lessons in Engineering.
Study shows students in ‘active learning’ classrooms learn more than they think
For decades, there has been evidence that classroom techniques designed to get students to participate in the learning process produces better educational outcomes at virtually all levels. And a new Harvard study led by Louis Deslauriers, Logan McCarty, Kelly Miller, Greg Kestin, and Kristina Callaghan, now a physics lecturer at the University of California, Merced.suggests it may be important to let students know it. Read More
Linc Conversations
LInc Exchange: Reimagining teaching & learning at Harvard
SEAS LInc Activity Reports
Many thanks to all who participated in the past year!
We look forward to your participation in the coming year!
LInc Activity Report: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023
LInc Activity Report: July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2022
LInc Activity Report: July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021