Theme: COIL VE

First, analyse your own curriculum and that of your partner. Also map out the principles that determine the design of your COIL VE. Which components of the curriculum or learning environment are already known and fixed (De Hei et al., 2016)? For example, think of the number of students participating in your subject or module or, if you do not teach the lessons yourself, the characteristics and experience of your colleague, the other subjects in the academic year and the position of the subject in the rest of the programme. This step also includes mapping out students’ existing knowledge about the subject or experience with group work and COIL VE.

Positioning COIL VE in your curriculum

Consider carefully where the COIL VE is positioned in your curriculum and how it fits within the subject you teach. Sometimes a COIL VE can completely replace a subject, but usually it needs to be integrated within the subject. It is important, therefore, that you have a good overview of the learning outcomes, the material, the working methods and the assessment. Look for internationalisation opportunities in your curriculum (Haug & Beelen, 2023) and formulate the general goals of the subject. In this phase, also consider collaborative learning in which students need each other to complete the assignment (positive interdependence ) and identify the interaction central to your design (Laal, 2013; Hackett, 2024; Hackett et al., 2024). This will influence the design of the other parts of your teaching set-up (De Hei et al., 2016).

Initial coordination with your partners

In COIL VE it is important to get to know your partner(s) and to discuss and map out a number of issues in advance. Where in the curriculum can you identify a problem or topic that can be further developed through collaboration with a partner institution (Doscher, 2022)? What do you consider to be important starting points? How will students collaborate and reflect? How are students assessed and what are the differences between partners? After all, the assignment for students must be in line with the learning outcomes of their subject for all partners. The various partners should experience the teaching and the associated learning outcomes as valuable (O'Dowd, 2021).

Other aspects to consider are differences in academic year, working in different time zones, group size and level of experience with COIL VE (Rubin, n.d.) . It can be helpful to create a project plan. See the Ikudu COIL handbook for examples of completed project plans.

What do you want students to be able to do and know at the end of a COIL VE? How are they going to demonstrate this? The aim is to create a learning environment in which activities help students achieve the learning outcomes and in which assessment moments enable students to demonstrate that they achieved them (De Louw et al., 2023; Deardorff, 2014; Deardorff, 2016). It is important to design learning outcomes, assessments and activities all at the same time so that they are in line with each other (constructive alignment) and with the other subjects in the different school years (De Louw et al., 2023). Completing the Programme Logic Model can help you make choices in this context (a video about this will be available soon).
 

Formulating learning outcomes

Your teaching can focus on individual or group learning outcomes (De Hei et al., 2016). Learning outcomes are often subject-related as well as aimed at acquiring skills such as giving feedback and working in a team. To start the project, you and your partner will look for overlap in your curricula, so some of the learning outcomes will be shared. In many cases, the overlapping learning outcomes are about collaboration and intercultural skills. Because many COIL VEs are multidisciplinary, the learning outcomes will differ somewhat per partner institution in terms of subject content (Doscher, 2023). The focus is not only on subject content; students will also learn to work together in teams and practise their international/intercultural and digital skills (Hackett et al., 2024). It is important, therefore, to strike a balance between subject content and intercultural learning (Klamer, 2024). Eva Haug (AUAS) shares a number of examples of learning outcomes below:

• “The learner can demonstrate understanding of the complexity of consumer behaviour, in relation to internal and external factors, when introducing a product in a new country and apply this in comparative research.”
• “Apply the relevant theories on urban planning and cultural analysis to create new solutions to problems that prevent cities and communities from being inclusive.”
• “Reflect on the Sustainable Development Goals, and how they foster intercultural sensitivity in inclusive cities.”
• “Describe the relationship between culture and collaboration in diverse teams, and how this reduces conflict (by diverse we mean: geographically, culturally, disciplinary and linguistically diverse).”

In the Ikudu COIL handbook you will find more examples of learning outcomes, plus tips on how to design these learning outcomes and also focus on inclusivity.

Assessment, testing and feedback

Make sure that the assessment method is suitable for demonstrating the extent to which students have achieved the learning objectives (Haug, 2024). Also consider whether you need a group assessment or an individual assessment (De Hei et al., 2016). It is often important in COIL VE to look at both the individual and the group contribution (Klamer, 2024). Additionally, consider questions such as: is this a self-assessment or a peer assessment? A formative or a summative assessment? What are the assessment criteria? What are students from the various partner countries used to (Haug, 2024)

When you have formulated shared learning outcomes, it is important that you describe these along with the assessment criteria in a rubric. Examples of shared learning outcomes can be about intercultural skills or collaboration skills. It is also important to share this rubric with students in a timely manner (Klamer, 2024). Examples of rubrics can be found here:

• Reinout Klamer gives an example of a rubric for COIL VE at The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS).
• An example can also be found on page 59 of the Ikudu COIL handbook.
• An example about collaborative learning.
• On the website of the American Association of Colleges and Universities you will find various sections on, for example, intercultural learning, teamwork and critical thinking. Creating an account is free.

Generally speaking, you and your partner will grade your own students (Doscher, 2023), but it is good to provide joint feedback on group products. This prevents significant discrepancies in the assessment of students between the different partner institutions, which could otherwise have undesirable effects on group dynamics. Formulating subject-specific learning outcomes where imbalances in student efforts are excessive can also lead to such undesirable effects. If learning outcomes and assessment differ between partners, it is important to communicate this transparently to students (Doscher, 2023). For more tips on assessment and examples of final products, see the Ikudu COIL handbook.

Activities, interaction and construction

What will the interaction between students look like (De Hei et al., 2016)? This concerns both interaction between students regarding the subject matter and interaction with the goal of, for example, getting to know each other and reaching a shared understanding of the assignment. What the interaction looks like also depends on the learning outcomes you want to achieve and how you can prepare students for the assessment.
It is important to incorporate milestones for students (Haug, 2017) and to provide them with an overview of the module in, for example, a study guide (Naicker et al., 2022). This creates clarity for students and the milestones ensure shorter deadlines and additional moments of reflection during the process. In terms of duration, the Ikudu project describes a period of five to eight weeks, while Hackett et al. (2024) suggest four to fifteen weeks. A typical COIL VE is structured as follows:

1. The preparatory and icebreaker phases are about getting to know each other. Students who trust each other will help each other by, for example, giving feedback (Laal, 2013; Hackett, 2024). It is important, therefore, to include these icebreaking activities in your design (see also the Ikudu COIL handbook for examples). In addition to helping students to get to know each other, icebreakers aim to create a safe and inclusive learning environment (Haug, 2024). Doscher (2023) recommends spending a quarter or a third of the time on icebreaker activities. If this phase is skipped, there is a greater risk of misconceptions during the COIL VE and of project management issues (Haug, 2017). Also be aware that since students are not always familiar with COIL VE, attention to this in the introduction is important (Haug, 2024).
2. After this, further introductions take place. The initial group discussions are held and mutual agreements are made about the collaboration. An example of a suitable working method for this is the intercultural interview (THUAS). Some lecturers choose to have students draw up a collaboration agreement (University of Waterloo).
3. The next phase focuses on actual collaboration and co-creation, which are both asynchronous and synchronous and in which students depend on each other to complete the assignment. In a typical COIL VE assignment, students compare and analyse situations in their fields and cultural situations, but they are also asked to jointly create new ideas or a product (Haug & Beelen, 2023). THUAS offers a concrete example of a COIL assignment on creating a value chain in the food industry.
4. Students work together towards the learning outcomes and the product to be delivered. For example, they give a joint presentation or deliver an advisory report or poster. Students are assessed individually and/or in groups.
5. There are intermediate and concluding moments of reflection. You can structure these moments by building in reflection after each task, for example (De Hei. et al., 2016). This involves reflection on the group goals that have been set, the collaboration and the process (Laal, 2013, Hackett, 2024). During the process, reflection helps students to map out what is going well and identify areas for improvement and any changes they can implement as they continue their collaboration (Laal, 2013). Intercultural competence development is a continuous process in which reflection plays an important role (Deardorff, 2015). Make sure to build in sufficient time for this so that students have ample opportunity to process the learning experience and their newly acquired skills (De Louw et al. 2021). Gregersen-Hermans and Pusch (2012) state that the time for debriefing should be twice as long as the time for the activity itself. Working methods that you can use for reflection include a reflective journal (see also Klamer (2020)) or group portfolios (Hackett, 2024). Deardorff (2020), for example, mentions OSEE (observe, see, explore, evaluate) as a method.

In this figure, on the AUAS website, the Ikudu handbook and in Hackett et al., 2024 you will find more information about the structure of a COIL VE.

Collaboration in COIL VE

According to Hackett (2024) and Hackett et al. (2024), COIL VE is a form of collaborative learning. In collaborative learning, students work on assignments in small groups and are jointly responsible for the end result (Onderwijskennis.nl, 2022). However, collaboration between students does not always happen spontaneously (De Hei et al, 2016). Or as Doscher (2023) states: “Collaboration does not happen by default, it happens by design” (p. 259). Placing students in a group does not automatically lead to collaboration (Hackett, 2024). It is essential, therefore, to design your courses intentionally, with an emphasis on cross-cultural interaction and collaboration (De Louw et al. 2021).

Promoting collaborative learning

To further promote collaborative learning, positive interdependence can be incorporated (Laal, 2013; Hackett, 2024). In this approach, students need each other to complete the assignment and they strive for a common goal (Laal, 2013; Johnson & Johnson, 2009; Hackett, 2024). Group members will thus endorse the added value of collaboration, because they believe that they can achieve a better result as a group than as an individual (Laal, 2013). Other design principles from the collaborative learning theory that, according to Hackett (2024) and Hackett et al. (2024), fit seamlessly with COIL VE are stimulating individual responsibility of students in group work, assignments that promote the training of social skills, and group evaluation and reflection.

There are various ways to promote collaboration in your educational design. One example is the 'jigsaw approach', where each student only has part of the information required (Leask and Carroll, 2013). Students cannot proceed without collaborating with the other students. In a variation on this, the assignment is so complex that it cannot be solved by an individual student. Kirschner et al. (2011) also show that collaborative assignments should be sufficiently complex. With more complex tasks, it is more difficult for students to be successful without collaborating and collaboration ensures that learning is more efficient. Group assignments that are not sufficiently challenging often lead to minimal collaboration because students can easily complete them individually (Laal, 2013).

Inclusivity

Inclusive and equal collaboration between students (and partners) is very important, but not always easy to achieve. The Inclusive Online Collaboration model (Haug, 2023 as described in the Ikudu COIL Handbook) can help with this. Students first discover and reflect on their own perspective, then try to understand the perceptions of others, and finally aim to bridge the differences between them. You can use these phases and interventions in the development and execution of the collaborative assignment.

Asynchronous and synchronous

For a COIL VE, we recommend that you think carefully about how to use your synchronous and asynchronous lesson formats and what purpose this serves (De Louw et al., 2021; Haug, 2020). Consider the ratio of synchronous and asynchronous formats in your design so that the online moments with your students support them during the asynchronous activities (De Louw et al., 2021). Synchronous activities are suitable for getting to know each other, for example, while students have more time to further develop ideas during asynchronous activities (Doscher, 2023). When designing synchronous activities, remember to take into account the varying availability of students from different countries, their possibly limited access to the Internet and the different time zones in which they are located (Adekola et al., 2021). The choice of synchronous activities, and your learning outcomes, will also determine your choice of online tools to use in the implementation of the COIL VE. We will discuss this in detail in the section on implementation below.
 

After all these preparations, the time has finally come for students to start working with COIL VE. In this step, we will delve deeper into how you can best support your students during the COIL VE with the right tools and resources, while also considering your own role as a lecturer. Think with your COIL VE partner(s) about how, as a teaching team, you should shape the guidance. How often do students have meetings with you as a lecturer? And what does your role look like? Communicate this clearly to students so that they know what to expect.

Group composition

Consider the group composition (De Hei et al., 2016). How many groups are you going to create? How large are they? What is the composition of each group? It may be wise not to put too many students together who already know each other (Leask & Carroll, 2013). Furthermore, Curşeu & Pluut (2013) show that students in groups with higher diversity in terms of gender and nationality are more likely to share a variety of insights and thus to achieve a greater learning effect for all group members. The role of motivated group members also contributes to this and it is important, therefore, to have at least one motivated student per group. Differences between members in terms of experience with group work seem to have an influence as well and it is important to help students learn more about group work (Curşeu & Pluut 2013; Colbeck et al., 2020). For example, students might have acquired these skills during work experience in addition to their studies. Johnson and Johnson (2009) show that people who get to know each other and trust each other work together more effectively in a group. During the COIL VE, therefore, it is advisable to avoid changes in group composition.

The lecturer as a facilitator

Your role as a lecturer in COIL VE is that of a coach (Haug, 2002). According to De Hei et al., (2020), lecturers should focus on the group process in group work instead of just the product to be delivered. It is about helping students with their intercultural and social skills, so as to create an environment in which all team members feel that they can contribute to the group work. To facilitate this type of learning, it is important to create a safe, inclusive and accessible online learning environment (De Louw et al. 2021; Poort & Okken, 2024). Emphasise to students that all perspectives and voices are valuable and necessary in COIL VE and that they can all learn from each other (Haug, 2024). In addition, provide clear instructions on what is expected of students regarding collaboration, emphasising the importance of interaction (De Hei et al., (2020); Utrecht University). Tips for guiding and coaching students in the intercultural learning process and online collaboration can be found in the Ikudu COIL handbook and in the Mentoring Handbook for Virtual Exchange Teachers.

Sometimes the collaboration needs further support from the lecturer - for example, when a conflict arises or when students are repeatedly absent. Tips on how to deal with this can be found at Ghent University. You can also stimulate collaboration by, for example, assigning group roles and responsibilities (Leask & Carroll, 2013; Utrecht University; Curşeu & Pluut, 2013). In this way, you encourage students to hold each other accountable for the work to be done (Washington University in St. Louis; also see this site for examples of roles). If no student takes the lead, you could appoint a leader or encourage students to appoint one (De Hei et al., 2020).

Check in regularly

A COIL VE is a learning environment in which unexpected things may happen. It is advisable to regularly check in with your COIL VE partners and discuss how the teaching is going and how it is being experienced by partners and students (Haug, 2024). Continuous monitoring enables adjustments and modifications, where required (De Hei et al., 2016). This ensures that your teaching remains coherent in its different components and that students achieve the intended learning outcomes. In a COIL VE, for example, it may happen that your partner's Internet connection is not stable enough to allow the first introduction to take place. This may affect the scheduling of the rest of the plenary meetings that you had planned. Another example in which you have to adjust is when students need more information about project management than you had anticipated. If, in your assessment, this knowledge is essential for students to successfully complete the course, you could schedule additional resources or meetings for this purpose.

Moments of reflection and structure

The lecturer’s guidance is also needed during reflection moments so that students can make sense of what they have learned and establish the link to situations outside the classroom (Ash & Clayton, 2014; De Louw et al., 2021). How does what they have learned fit into their context? How can they take this with them into their existing and future professional environment? In this way, their experience becomes meaningful (Haug, 2017).
Finally, as a lecturer you provide structure by, for example, regularly scheduling meetings with your students or explaining the structure of the course in a study guide (Naicker et al., 2022). Scheduling weekly Q&A sessions is another way to support students and give them an opportunity to ask questions (Haug, 2024).

Resources

The material you provide can be subject-related, but you should also consider providing the right tools to set up the collaboration (University of Groningen). For example, teach your students about online collaboration and project management, show good examples and make resources available. You can do this during the first preparatory phase of the COIL VE, as a kind of pre-COIL (Naicker et al., 2022), but certainly also during the actual module. Many students are not yet familiar with COIL VE and what it entails, so make sure to involve them in this (Haug, 2024). Because COIL VE takes place in an international or intercultural context, you should also think of resources and tools on intercultural communication. For example, Deardorff (2023) provides an overview of various communication strategies on pp. 280 and 281, including 'listening for understanding' and trying to avoid assumptions. You could use this information to introduce students to the different communication styles before or during the COIL VE and in this way encourage them to discover their own style.

Reinout Klamer from THUAS recommends being well informed about the material your partners provide to their students. Sometimes it is not possible to share this material between partners due to specific characteristics or copyright restrictions. He also argues that it is not always necessary to organise joint online lessons via COIL VE; you can also refer to public sources such as TEDx, YouTube or other platforms where information is available. Also remember to look at accessible websites of industry associations, trend consultancies and other universities.

Tools

What technology do you use during your COIL VE and for what purpose? One important point here is that the learning outcomes should determine the choice of technical tools and not the other way around (Doscher, 2023). In this way, the tools optimally support the learning process. Group size, type of assignment and the choice of asynchronous or synchronous work all influence your selection of tools (Simon & Santana Fierro, 2023).
Tools such as Zoom and MS Teams are often used for a central kick-off or for presentations, and a whiteboard tool is useful for keeping track of the activities. Think of programs such as Padlet and Canva (see p. 1 of GO ZINE of THUAS for an example of a completed padlet by students). Tools such as Google Docs can help when students work together on a document. COIL VE is also suitable for the use of creative tools – for example, for recording a podcast, making a video, an infographic or a vlog. An overview of tools, their properties and possibilities for COIL VE can be found in Simon & Santana Fierro (2023) and in the Ikudu COIL handbook. For teacher training courses in a European context, the eTwinning platform can also be used.

"Usually, the students choose how they maintain contact with each other in the groups. One group chooses to communicate via WhatsApp and Google Meet and the other uses Onedrive and MS Teams. It is important to advise on this, both about the possibilities and the risks. In addition, it is useful to discuss how you collaborate online," says Klamer. Elizabeth Saunders gives a number of tips:
•    Meet regularly. Let students plan these meetings themselves.
•    Share documents, or share what you're working on so that everyone can access it.
•    Work on the same thing online at the same time, occasionally, so that you can communicate with each other ‘live’.
•    Make clear agreements about how and when you can be reached online.

Privacy policy and accessibility tools

Keep in mind that the institutions and countries you work with have different privacy rules and guidelines regarding certain tools. For example, not every university or college may support Zoom and perhaps you work with other internal LMS systems that the other institutions do not have access to. Check in advance what your own internal policy regarding ICT tools is and ask your partner to do this as well. You can also check which colleagues can support you (also technically) with this and whom to contact with any questions in the future (Klamer, 2024).

Additionally, it is important to consider aspects such as the accessibility of the tools and inclusion for all students (and lecturer) (Naicker et al., 2022; Freed, 2023; Haug, 2024). To what extent are students and lecturers from different countries familiar with the use of the various tools? Do they have the right skills? Can the tools also be used with a low Internet speed or when users have little data available? How does the Internet speed differ between partners? (Klamer, 2024) This influences the extent to which students can actually participate in the COIL VE on an equal footing. Of course, you can also support students in the use of new tools and IT in general when preparing the COIL VE (Klamer, 2024).
 

This last step centres around the evaluation of your COIL VE. Because you collaborate with your partner (or partners) in COIL VE, setting up the evaluation is a joint process. According to Eva Haug, it is advisable to clearly agree on the evaluation objectives with all parties. For example, if the evaluation focuses on the quality of your teaching, you can ask yourself to what extent the teaching involved real collaborative learning (Klamer, 2023). Alternatively, the evaluation can aim to demonstrate the added value of COIL VE for your subject or educational institution.

Collaboration between the partners

In addition, according to Haug, the evaluation can also focus on the collaboration between the partners. Sometimes universities use data from student evaluations for research or publications. In such cases, it is important to make agreements about this in advance with due regard for the GDPR rules in the various countries involved. From conversations with Eva Haug it has emerged that sometimes there is confusion about the terminology used. In many English-speaking countries, for example, evaluation of learning is equivalent to testing students, while in this context step 4 is actually about evaluating the educational process.

Reflecting with students

If you choose to survey students, it can be worthwhile to reflect with them on how they experienced the COIL VE. What went well and what could be improved from their perspective, for example in the area of online tools or communication from the lecturer? Make sure to clearly indicate that this evaluation does not affect a student's grade so that they feel free to give open and honest feedback (Ikudu evaluation toolkit). After all, it is about how they experienced the COIL VE and not about what they learned about the subject or about themselves.