Teaching and Learning the West Point Way Educating the Next Generation of Leaders

Teaching and Learning the West Point Way is a unique compendium of the best teaching and learning practices from one of the most celebrated and storied undergraduate teaching and learning environments and institutions in America – the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, USA. Drawing on the broad academic curriculum that the students follow at West Point – in addition to military leadership, character development, and competitive athletics – this book describes proven and effective undergraduate pedagogy across a number of academic disciplines. Case studies, strategies and techniques, empirical teaching and learning research results, syllabi, and assignments developed and deployed by West Point faculty are included, which faculty in other higher education institutions can adapt and apply to their own programs and courses. An accompanying companion website provides additional syllabi, course guides, lesson plans, PowerPoint activities, and lecture slides, as well as videos of the editors and authors discussing how key concepts in their chapters might be applied in different teaching and learning contexts. This is an opportunity to gain an in-depth insight into the programs and practices inside one of the world’s premier leadership development and educational institutions. It should appeal to new and experienced faculty and administrators interested in course creation and syllabus design across a wide range of disciplines in educational institutions and military academies across the globe.

Foreword Introduction Educating future Army Leaders for a Diverse and Dynamic World Various West Point Authors Syllabi Raymond A. Kimball, Section Editor Chapter 1: Military Leadership: Purpose, Direction, Motivation Russell P. Lemler and Jordon E. Swain Chapter 2: Infrastructure Engineering: Appreciating the Art and Science of Our Built Environment J. Ledlie Klosky and Brian Riser Chapter 3: Armed Forces & Society: Thank You for (Y)our Service Morten G. Ender Chapter 4: Chemical Engineering Lab: Getting Results Matthew Armstrong, April Miller, Andrew Pfluger, Geoffrey Bull, Corey James, Enoch J. Nagelli, Trevor Corrigan, and Andrew Biaglow Chapter 5: Entrepreneurial Leadership: Shark Tank for Warriors Lissa V. Young Chapter 6: Officership: Developing Professional Knowledge, Identity, and Inspiration Jeffrey Peterson, Matthew S. Arbogast, and Matthew K. Clark Assignments Raymond A. Kimball, Section Editor Chapter 7: The Ethics of AI in War: Digital Trigger Scott Parsons, Christopher Korpela, and William J. Barry Chapter 8: An Undergraduate Project to Develop Statistical Thinking and Writing: Iterating to Success Kevin Cummiskey, James Pleuss, Bryan Adams, Dusty Turner, Randal Hickman, Charles Sulewski, and Krista Watts Chapter 9: A Proflective Writing Assignment in Advanced General Psychology for Leaders: Letter to the Future Self Elizabeth L. Wetzler and David T. Feltner Chapter 10: Harnessing Storytelling to Improve Students’ Scientific Communication: Narrating Science Melissa Eslinger, Jason O. Hoppe, and Peter L. Zhu Chapter 11: Leadership in Combat Writing Assignments - In Extremis Brian J. Reed and Nicole Kruse Chapter 12: The Intellectual Giant Model of Teaching: Sharp-shoot, Integrate, and Apply Everett S. P. Spain Teaching Notes Morten G. Ender, Section Editor Chapter 13: Synthesizing Art, Language, and History: Creating Empathetic Leaders of Character in the Foreign Language Classroom Diane Richardson and Xenia Srebrianski Harwell Chapter 14: Simulating Combat Modeling in Engineering: My Roommate Was Jealous Vikram Mittal, Gene J. Lesinski, and Matthew F. Dabkowski Chapter 15: Tapping Feature Films for Classroom Debates: Transformational or Toxic Leaders? Jordon E. Swain, Everett S. P. Spain, Archie L. Bates III, and Joshua C. Bowen Chapter 16: Bringing the Thayer Method into the 21st Century: T21 Corey S. Gerving, Cathleen B. Barker, Travis R. Barker, James C. Bowen, David W. Hutchinson, and Andrew S. Wilhelm Chapter 17: Peer Assessment and Coaching: As Iron Sharpens Iron Ross M. Skilling Chapter 18: Experiencing Social Class Inequality: Modified Monopoly Morten G. Ender Chapter 19: Preparing Students to Lead Productive Discussions: Discuss til they Drop Stephen Finn Chapter 20: Using Virtual Battlespace Gaming Simulations in the Classroom: Searching for IEDs in Class Elizabeth L. Wetzler, Lisa M. Korenman, and Arianna D. Morell Chapter 21: Making Leaders at the Group Level: The Cadet Company Brian J. Reed, David B. Lora, and David G. Weart Chapter 22: Teaching Russian Political Discourse: Classroom Oral Presentation and Discussion Olga Dobrunoff Chapter 23: Enhancing Written and Oral Analysis in a Life Science Course: Literary Biologists Melissa Eslinger, Ryan E. Rodriguez, and Kathleen LeForte Chapter 24: Enhancing the Foreign Language Classroom through Experiential Learning: Connecting and Reflecting Sherry A. Maggin, John M. Pendergast, and Julia M. Praud Chapter 25: Deliberately Integrating Teaching, Learning, and Assessment: The Signature Work of the West Point Writing Program Jason O. Hoppe and Colleen G. Eils Chapter 26: Does Active Learning Translate into Actual Learning in Psychology?: Dog Day Aryn A. Pyke and Tracie M. Caccavale Empirical Articles Jakob Bruhl, Section Editor Chapter 27: Developing the Cutting Edge of Assessment Techniques: Discovery Learning Assessments Kristin M. Arney, Kayla K. Blyman, Lisa Bromberg, Jennifer Cepeda, David L. Harness, and Scott Lynch Chapter 28: Understanding Positive Change in Academic Performance: The Most Improved Student Paul F. Evangelista and Gess LeBlanc Chapter 29: Epistemic Expressions of Point of View in Russian: A Sample System of Classroom Activities Olga Dobrunoff Chapter 30: The Validity of the College Entrance Examination Rank in Predicting Student Success in Chemical Engineering: Predicting Academic Success Trevor Corrigan, Andrew Pfluger, Bryan Jonas, April Miller, H. Daniel Bahaghighat, Eric Mowles, Geoffrey Bull, Corey James, Enoch A. Nagelli, Melissa Eslinger, Matthew Armstrong, Russell Lachance, and Andrew Biaglow Chapter 31: An Investigation on the Effect of Out-Of-Class Assignments on Student Performance: The Homework Tightrope Daniel J. Newell and J.D. Caddell Chapter 32: Memory Recall Exercises: Food for Thought Michael B. Wright, Sean R. McMahon, Cole A. Spitzack, Dale J. Hommerding, and George J. Fust III Interdisciplinary Articles Rachel M. Sondheimer, Section Editor Chapter 33: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Student Understanding of Microbial Diversity: You Are What You Touch Melissa Eslinger, Ryan E. Rodriguez, Elizabeth Mentis Chapter 34: The Impact of the Vertical Writing Surface on Teaching and Learning in Different Disciplines: The Writing's on the Wall Raymond A. Kimball, Jack Cooperman, Chris Fuhriman, and Eric J. Simpson Chapter 35: Staff Rides 2.0: Expanding on an Old Army Tradition Lionel Beehner, Liam Collins, Robert J. Goldstein, and Jason R. Musteen Epilogue Teaching and Learning in a COVID-19 World Lynnan Mocek, Raymond A. Kimball, and Rebecca Jones-Kellogg

Morten G. Ender, Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of Diversity & Inclusion Studies, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Raymond A. Kimball, Chief of Faculty Development, U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Rachel M. Sondheimer, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Jakob C. Bruhl, Associate Professor of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, U.S. Military Academy at West Point.