MIT's Historical Role in Curriculum Reform
Joel Boyce - Boyceman@hotmail.com
Issue date: 3/6/03 Section: News
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UAH Faculty and Students were given the opportunity to attend a presentation Tuesday afternoon that focused on significant achievements in 19th century educational reform introduced by curriculum of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by William Barton Rogers.
The keynote speaker for the event was Dr. Alex Angulo who is a faculty candidate in the Department of Education. The event entitled, "Reflections on Educational Reform: The Case of MIT in Nineteenth Century America," took place in the Union Grove Gallery at 4 p.m. on February 25. Dr. Angulo recently completed the requirements for his Doctor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, MA. His concentration in the field of education is on Learning and Teaching: Foundations of Education.
Dr. Angulo spoke about the educational reforms instituted by William Barton Rogers, founder of MIT. William Rogers was a 19th century scientist and educational reformer who instituted a system at MIT that placed the sciences at the middle of the curriculum instead of the humanities. Dr. Angulo postulated that Rogers may have been one of the first reformers to place technology as a staple of his proposed curriculum. Dr. Angulo also discussed the importance of Rogers' insertion of the use of science and laboratories into the center of curriculum.
Dr. Angulo suggested that Rogers' scientific and technological amendments to the traditional curriculum were some of the forerunners of the focus on the sciences and technology in the core curriculum of many educational institutions today.
William Barton Rogers spent half of his lifetime in Virginia and the other half in Massachusetts. While living in Virginia, he wrestled with his convictions against the institution of slavery and the lack of focus on science and technology. Dr. Angulo explained that the agricultural climate of the South was not very receptive to Rogers' notions for reform. Dr, Angulo also discussed the fact that the South's emphasis on science was a century outdated and not a focal issue.
The keynote speaker for the event was Dr. Alex Angulo who is a faculty candidate in the Department of Education. The event entitled, "Reflections on Educational Reform: The Case of MIT in Nineteenth Century America," took place in the Union Grove Gallery at 4 p.m. on February 25. Dr. Angulo recently completed the requirements for his Doctor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, MA. His concentration in the field of education is on Learning and Teaching: Foundations of Education.
Dr. Angulo spoke about the educational reforms instituted by William Barton Rogers, founder of MIT. William Rogers was a 19th century scientist and educational reformer who instituted a system at MIT that placed the sciences at the middle of the curriculum instead of the humanities. Dr. Angulo postulated that Rogers may have been one of the first reformers to place technology as a staple of his proposed curriculum. Dr. Angulo also discussed the importance of Rogers' insertion of the use of science and laboratories into the center of curriculum.
Dr. Angulo suggested that Rogers' scientific and technological amendments to the traditional curriculum were some of the forerunners of the focus on the sciences and technology in the core curriculum of many educational institutions today.
William Barton Rogers spent half of his lifetime in Virginia and the other half in Massachusetts. While living in Virginia, he wrestled with his convictions against the institution of slavery and the lack of focus on science and technology. Dr. Angulo explained that the agricultural climate of the South was not very receptive to Rogers' notions for reform. Dr, Angulo also discussed the fact that the South's emphasis on science was a century outdated and not a focal issue.