Americans as International Students: Learning Comparisons and Cultural Exchange in a New Zealand Geoscience Curriculum

Just over 10% of the full time equivalent students taking classes in the Geology Department at the University of Otago each year are international students, the dominant portion of whom come from the US via undergraduate exchange programs. American students take courses at all levels for one or two semesters with the largest single contingent of US students (25-30) enrolled in a 2nd-year field methods course. There are important differences in the undergraduate degree programs in the US and NZ. The NZ BSc is 3 years long and emphasizes depth over breadth. Our courses have larger enrolments and all geology courses have laboratories and fieldtrips. The BS and BA degrees of the US are 4 years long and include significant general education and cognate course work. The home institutions of most of the American students are small liberal arts colleges that typically have small class sizes. Comparisons of assessment results over a four year period reveal some differences between students from the US and NZ. In general, US students are not accustomed to essay-intensive examinations that serve as the principal assessment tool in the NZ system. On the other hand, the Americans are better prepared in cognate subjects (maths, physics, chemistry) and do well in more quantitative courses. As American emigrants, we have been particularly cognisant of aspects of cultural exchange that the US students experience during their stay in NZ. The nature of the geology curriculum permits extensive opportunities for discussions with students during fieldtrips and laboratories. From such informal "interviews", we have noted positive shifts in the perceptions of US and NZ students of each other over the course of a semester. Such face to face interactions are invaluable and should never be supplanted by technological substitutes. When it comes to cultural exchange, being there is everything.