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For example, the 6.046 exam is tomorrow. What if the class staff booked a classroom (say 1-132) from say 5pm to 8am the next day and then publicized that room to the class. Then anyone who is looking for a study buddy could just drop by any time that evening and see who is around.
If a class encourages collaboration on the p-set, a similar thing could be done the day before a p-set is due.
This could be held in conjunction with staff being present (ie. office hours), but doesn’t have to. I got this idea from working with other students I found in office hours. Often the helpful part is not just staff members, but peers. However, typically arranging group study sessions is difficult, because you need to take schedules into account and proactively arrange times. That is why I think the course staff should just reserve a room and designate it as the place to study or p-set together. Then you could work with whoever is there at the time.
Given we already have classroom space, and not all of it is reserved into the evening, I think we might be able to make this work at no extra cost to MIT.
Comments
Some clarifications from
Some clarifications from correspondence with another student:
1) Why can spaces only be reserved until 1am? Is there any reason that limitation is in place? Plus even you could only reserve till 1am, I’m 99% sure no one would come in at 1am and kick you out.
2) I think we should change that understanding if that is the limitation in place. I think that if this was part of a larger Institute-sanctioned effort, that concern could be eliminated, though I understand if an individual TA just did this, it would be a concern.
3) I was hesitant about writing 8am as an end time, but I assumed that would be the first time a room would be booked again the next day. Obviously it should be billed as 5pm-on with the understanding that someone else has the room at 8am and you shouldn’t be around to be kicked out at 8am. But there is no reason to specify an arbitrary end time such as 1am.
4) That requires arranging. I think there is an activation energy to arranging something. I agree this may seem silly, and it can certainly be overcome with effort, but this is extra effort that is needed. I think open hours in which one would not have to pre-plan would be a benefit. Personally, I could always take the steps you mention, but it’s a lot of effort to coordinate times.
5) I agree that all classes should have a mailing list. I sent out a proposal two weeks ago about improving the list of students on Stellar to be opt-out, not opt-in. A mailing list is just a logical continuation of that (so you don’t have to copy and paste everyone’s name in, and it somehow feels different to send to a mailing list rather than named individuals even if the effect is the same) .
Original concerns were
Original concerns were
1) Rooms can only be reserved till 1am
2) The person who reserves the room is responsible for the mess
3) Why are we encouraging people to stay up till 8am?
4) Can't you just meet people at office hours and arrange a time
5) Instead, we could give each class an open mailing list without the course staff