The Bargalló Teaching Methodology at the Early Twentieth Century: Contributions to Palaeontological Research and Geological Heritage

Abstract

During the early twentieth century, the Professor Modesto Bargallo developed in Spain a teaching method that promoted the active participation of the students in their training, “discovering” the Nature by themselves, through practical field trips and classroom activities. His innovative methodology allowed not only the optimal training of several classes of future teachers at the Normal School of Guadalajara, but also the discovery of four new palaeontological sites: The Silurian graptolite site of Sierra Menera, the Eocene-Oligocene vertebrate site of Huermeces, and the Miocene mammal and turtle sites of Chiloeches. The scientific legacy of Bargallo is also directly related to his relationship with two of the most important Spanish naturalist institutions: The Royal Spanish Society of Natural History (Real Sociedad Espanola de Historia Natural), in whose proceedings he published his palaeontological discoveries, and the National Museum of Natural Sciences (Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales), to which he donated the fossil remains that were found in those sites. Another part of his rich geological heritage remained in Spain too, after his exile to Mexico (where he continued his intense teaching and scientific work), being nowadays held at the University of Alcala, in the so-called Bargallo Historical Collection.