Research On The Development History Of Electrical Engineering Education In Massachusetts Institute Of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)is the first university to offer electrical engineering courses,and has always been in the forefront of electrical engineering education reform in the United States.Being reaching the leading,cutting-edge and representative place in adapting to the changes and challenges of American higher education environment,MIT’s electrical engineering education is a model for the development of higher electrical engineering education in the world.By using the methods of literature research,historical research and case study,holding the perspective of American higher engineering education,and basing on the analysis of the development background of American higher electrical engineering education in different periods,this paper analyzes the motivation driving the development of MIT Electrical Engineering Education.Through the three elements of educators,educates and educational influence in education,combining the three functions of university talent training,scientific research and social service,this paper explores the teaching practice and scientific research paradigm of electrical engineering education in MIT,refines its main characteristics,and summarizes its developmental logic and suggestions.In the initial stage of electrical engineering education at MIT(1882-1917),MIT complied with the needs of the Electrical Times,offered the first electrical engineering course in 1882,and the professional knowledge of electrical engineering was incorporated into the curriculum system of MIT for the first time.The Department of electrical engineering was established in1902 and began to train technical professionals of electrical engineering,marking that electrical engineering education has entered the stage of "independent" development from the "dependent" physics department.With the vigorous promotion of Charles F.Scott and other scholars and the active advocacy of the American Society of electrical engineers,the electrical engineering education of MIT is in the ascendant.Although its teaching level and scientific research are still in the primary stage of development,it has laid a foundation for its further development.Electrical engineering education has gradually become an important teaching field of MIT.At this time,the electrical engineering education of MIT carried out postgraduate education on the basis of undergraduate education.With the goal of training electrical engineers,it formed a teaching paradigm of combining professional knowledge application with school enterprise cooperation,and there is a "generational relationship" between disciplines and physics education.During the transition period of MIT’s Electrical Engineering Education(1917-1945),MIT gave full play to the function of University Service war.Electrical engineering education changed from simple emphasis on practice to scientific research,from teaching to the combination of science and education,and from training qualified electrical engineers to serving the military industry.A series of electrical engineering education reform proposals put forward by scholars such as Vannevar Bush and the derivation of new ideas of Electrical Engineering Education under the action of new thoughts of higher education meet the needs of engineering education to serve the war.At this time,a scientific research paradigm relying on the military laboratory to improve its comprehensive strength was formed,which provided a solid experimental platform for its teaching practice and scientific research.MIT’s electrical engineering education closely combined the school running objectives with the needs of military industry,adjusted the talent training objectives,formed the educational concept of combining science and technology,actively explored the paradigm of integration of science and education,attached importance to graduate education,and improved school enterprise cooperation courses,so as to deepen the school enterprise cooperation mode,paid attention to the intersection of disciplines,and broadened the scope of electrical engineering education.During the innovative period of electrical engineering education at MIT(1945-1975),MIT constantly balanced the conflict between service war and academic autonomy,the cross relationship between electrical engineering and computer science,and actively innovated in talent training and scientific research.In 1975,the Department of electrical engineering was renamed the Department of electrical engineering and computer science,which indicates that electrical engineering education and computer science education have developed from cross development to integrated development.The important contributions of Frederick Terman and other scholars in electrical engineering education,as well as the introduction of a series of education policy reports such as "Science: the Endless Frontier",had provided impetus and pointed out the direction for the innovative development of electrical engineering education at MIT after World War II.At this time,a scientific research paradigm tends to optimize the original experimental projects,focusing on scientific theoretical research.MIT’s electrical engineering education coordinates multiple educational influencing factors,integrates computer science courses,pay attention to cultivating students’ research ability,forms a model of integration of science and education,and pays attention to humanistic education with the development of interdisciplinary.During the leapfrog period of MIT Electrical Engineering Education(from 1975 to now),the organizational form of MIT Electrical engineering education tends to be stable.It not only inherits the past advanced education experience,but also carries out timely reform and innovation.It demonstrates its evolution logic of knowledge change,strain and change in inheritance and innovation,and realizes leapfrog development in appropriate adjustment.A series of reforms have promoted its great leap forward development.The beneficial practice of Wilbur Davenport and others in electrical engineering education,as well as the introduction of education policy reports such as "A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform",have driven the great leap forward development of electrical engineering education at MIT.At this time,the scientific research paradigm of shaping and improving the connotation of experiment is presented,aiming to promote high-quality scientific research.MIT’s electrical engineering education highlights the educational principle of "big engineering concept",emphasizes returning to engineering practice,pays attention to the cultivation of students’ innovative ability,highlights the element of curriculum "design",further sublimates the school enterprise cooperation mode,and presents the trend of cross discipline after the in-depth integration of disciplines.The development of electrical engineering education at MIT in recent 140 years has distinct historical logic,theoretical logic and practical logic.It represents the history,current situation and the development trend of higher electrical engineering education in the United States.Based on its development experience,China’s higher electrical engineering education should actively respond to social needs,follow the concept of large-scale engineering,weaken the discipline boundary,rely on scientific research and enterprise platform,and then develop it efficiently.