360 H. E- GREGORY TEACHING GEOLOGY AS RELATED TO RESEARCH 



officers and faculty, by interested individuals, educational associations, 

 and scientific bodies. 



2. In colleges where geology is now taught systematic effort should 

 result in securing more time for the subject. The curriculum allowance 

 for field and laboratory work in geology is commonly much less than that 

 considered necessary for chemistry and biology. 



3. Change in the method of teaching elementary geology would, I be- 

 lieve, place the subject in a stronger position. In most institutions it is 

 now placed with "informational" or "descriptive'' courses, which are 

 weighted lightly by committees on courses of study; but the subject is 

 admirably adapted for exercises in logical presentation, formulation of 

 hypotheses, and constructive criticism. In my opinion, the method now 

 in vogue in many institutions — nomenclature and facts from a text-book, 

 supplemented by more facts presented through lantern slides — ^needs 

 thorough revision. The newer text-books bring facts and established 

 principles up to date and include new illustrations and diagrams, but in 

 method they are substantially like those of a half century previous. It 

 is a mistake to assume that college undergraduates are unable or indis- 

 posed to work on problems. 



4. To an undesirable extent, the graduate student is treated as an ad- 

 vanced undergraduate, who selects defined courses and whose attainments 

 are measured in standards of time and recorded marks. Emphasis on 

 information in lectures and a failure to distinguish "disciplinary" from 

 "mechanical" in laboratory exercises is discouraging to originality and 

 initiative. 



5. Cooperation among universities, whereby each institution should 

 emphasize some particular branch of the subject and encourage inter- 

 change of students, affords obvious advantages to the young man in train- 

 ing for a professional career. There is a need also of a carefully organized 

 field school of geology, attendance at which should be required of all 

 students who intend to devote their lives to this subject. Such a school, 

 I believe, could be adequately financed and efficiently managed by a group 

 of strong institutions in combination with the United States Geological 

 Survey and the State surveys. 



B. The public should be given a better understanding of the purpose 

 and scope of geology. 



1. There is a large field for geological literature designed for the intel- 

 ligent layman. For the public the popular newspapers and magazines 

 replace lectures, laboratory work, and printed transactions. The widely' 

 recognized significance of geologic truths creates an atmosphere favorable 



