POSITIVE IMPACTS OF US-ECUADORIAN STUDENT INTEGRATION IN THE ECUADOR VOLCANOLOGY FIELD CAMP

We have created a program providing the traditional skills and exercises of field camp, but set in the Ecuadorian Andes and sometimes the Galapagos Islands, and entirely in volcanic rocks. This course offers 3 credits in 3 weeks with students participating from universities across the US. ok Students practice stratigraphic logging, geologic mapping, and rock description, while studying the regional geologic activity and history.

In the initial years, we found and reported that the cultural interactions of taking a field camp course in an international and strengthened the learning experience. During the past two iterations of the field camp we have partner with Escuela Politécnica Nacional in Quito in order to strengthen the cultural experience. As is the case with the American students, the Ecuadorian students are typically senior level geology majors with a robust background.

We have found this blending of American and Ecuadorian students to be a benefit to the educational goals of the course as it enhances the overall experience of the students. This positive effect on the affective domain has been shown through pre and post course surveying done during years with and without the combination of students. The American students find a stronger sense of connection to place when they are building personal relationships with their new colleagues who are local to the country. Those students in the mixed population report that they are more likely to remember the geology that they have studied than do the students in the American only groups.

We offer this exemplar for all field trips and and field courses taking place in an international setting.