USING LOCAL HISTORY TO FACILITATE TEACHING GEOLOGY AT THE U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY

The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York has used a teaching style called the Thayer method for almost two hundred years. The Thayer method places the responsibility for learning on the cadets. Prior to each class, cadets study the material and during class take part in active learning exercises and group work to reinforce their studies. The history of West Point, and especially the installation’s role in the Revolutionary War, is an integral part of the education cadets receive. The Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering incorporates this knowledge into its courses. One example is Physical Geology, which is taught in both a geological and historical context that provides a frame of reference to stimulate active learning.

During the Revolutionary War, West Point was selected as the best location to prevent the British from sailing up the Hudson River. In addition to studying the military significance of the area in their military science and history courses, cadets in Physical Geology learn the factors that controlled the formation of the rocks and landforms. This includes the igneous, metamorphic, and tectonic processes that formed the bedrock of the Hudson Highlands in addition to fluvial and glacial processes that formed the river valley. The installation of the “Great Chain” that stretched across the Hudson River to prevent the movement of British ships required a large amount of iron. The iron ore was locally mined from the significant magnetite deposits found near West Point. Cadets discover how the magnetite deposits were formed, why they were a good source of iron, and how the ore was mined. Field trips help cadets link the human history and the geologic history of the area. By tying geology and geologic history to the human history of the area, cadets are able to actively learn about geology in a way that relates to a body of knowledge they already possess.