Rebecca Miles, Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing in Walton College of Business, gave a presentation titled “Bringing the World to Your Students (and Vice Versa): One Colleague’s Journey.”
In this presentation Dr. Miles discussed her use of Collaborative Online International Learning to “include global thinking, exposure, content, and awareness at the course level.” While she did not create an entire course modeled after SUNY’s COIL program, she adapted it to create an international learning atmosphere for students without having to do a study abroad program. Collaborating with instructors from France and Mexico, she was able to team teach a course on marketing that gave students an understanding of the similarities and differences in marketing to different communities and cultures.
Miles notes that “the collaboration allows instructors to be more creative (individually) and to collaborate across cultures. It gives us an opportunity to have our students experience (rather than study about) the benefits and challenges of culture.” The overall student feedback was positive and the experience provided a more international and global understanding of the content.
Some things to consider when deciding to embark on such a journey:
- What course content would benefit from this?
- Who will I teach with?
- Are the semester schedules compatible?
- Have I planned properly?
- Who is my tech partner and how do I use the technology?
- How big is the class? Is the partner class of a similar size?
- Do my teaching styles align with my partner instructor?
- Do I have a backup plan if something goes wrong?
This content was developed from a presentation by which was sponsored by the The Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center (TFSC) at the University of Arkansas.
Have questions about Rebecca Miles’ experience? Email her at rmiles@walton.uark.edu.
Further Resources:
- COIL Website
- COIL Sample Classes
- You can also email coilinfo@suny.edu to request the COIL Course Guide.