INCORPORATING GEOSCIENCE CURRICULUM INTO A STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS: A REPORT FROM SEVILLE, SPAIN

The Southern California Foothills Consortium for Study Abroad (SCFC) is a cooperative study abroad program including 14 community college (2YC) districts in southern California and the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS). Students and faculty from these institutions participate in overseas place-based classroom instruction, supplemental cultural activities, and single and multi-day excursions. Historically, primary program curriculum have been in the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts disciplines, but in spring 2019, a geoscience component was included in the Seville, Spain program. Students enrolled in sections of Physical Geology with Laboratory, Physical Oceanography, and Natural Disasters, including 12 weeks of classroom instruction and a weekend field trip to Cabo de Gata, Almeria (SE Spain.) Geologic and oceanographic case studies, concepts, and student presentations focusing on the Iberian Peninsula/Mediterranean/European Continent were infused into the curriculum. This presentation will include information on geoscience program curriculum; materials and infrastructure-related challenges (and potential solutions) to implementing geoscience courses in a foreign country; Cabo de Gata field trip content and logistics; and student evaluation data for the geoscience portion of the study abroad program. There will also be a discussion of some of the unique challenges inherent in carrying out a study abroad program for 2YC students and program components that promote student success in an off-campus environment.