Maps can be excellent vehicles to guide and enliven class discussions, but map interpretation poses a formidable barrier for many students. On class surveys, students often identify maps as the most-hated part of a geology course, however, this stated dislike masks a critical distinction. Most students actually hate ‘map interpretation’, the complex set of skills necessary to understand what a map is attempting to convey. Once students actually understand a map’s content, they usually enjoy its exploration.

One way to build dynamic classroom discussions is by enabling students to understand mapped data without having to interpret maps. To do this, the University of Minnesota’s introductory geology program has pioneered methods to display maps as three-dimensional images, as anaglyph maps or through the use of GeoWall stereo-projection systems. These three-dimensional images allow students to explore the origins of landscapes or to investigate geological processes, even without previous map experience. Not surprisingly, once students actually ‘see’ what a map is attempting to convey, they pick up map interpretation skills much more naturally, without the usual map antipathy.

Using ‘GeoWall’ stereo-projection systems, students can view maps as three-dimensional surfaces they can ‘zoom into’ or ‘fly over’ to examine in more detail. Anaglyph maps were a fortuitous outgrowth of our stereo-projection studies that can be printed as paper maps or projected in class. The former option has the advantages of allowing a class to split into small groups to facilitate student interaction. Washable markers can be used to annotate laminated maps, allowing students to illustrate and compare competing ideas. Anaglyph maps can also be taken into the field or used in classrooms that lack projection systems.

These three-dimensional images may be so successful in increasing students’ engagement in the class, that their use may challenge instructors. As students take control of the class discussion, instructors have to be capable of thinking quickly, have the flexibility to allow discussions to veer off in unexpected directions, and the confidence to admit they do not know the answer to every question. As a result, these methods of map display not only improve class discussion, but may also help us to become better instructors.