The changing nature of the higher education environment has placed greater emphasis on the need for global dimensions in university curricula. The Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program has emerged as an innovative teaching and learning practice in the pedagogy of education. In the context of internationalization of the curricula, the second-year undergraduate students in the discipline of Human Resource Management, at the Durban University of Technology in South Africa, participated in a COIL program and collaborated internationally with a university in Brazil. The purpose of this article is to elicit students’ opinions on their experiences participating in a COIL project. The study employed a qualitative research approach and collected data from 71 participants using a focus group discussion consisting of 15 groups of 4 to 5 members. The participants were engaged on weekly activities for a period of 6-8 weeks. The data analysis and findings of the COIL experiences is presented in three categories, opportunities, enablers, and challenges. The findings on the opportunities shows that students developed greater levels of openness to learning in a multicultural setting/environment, perceived COIL as part of a wider internationalized curriculum, and used self-confidence in building a cross cultural knowledge competence. The enabler in the project is the structured weekly activities integrated into the module learning content. Challenges documented include language barriers, geographical time zone management and technological barriers. This article posits COIL as a nuanced teaching and learning paradigm which foregrounds the students’ ability to engage globally in acquiring knowledge.

Authors:
Obianuju Okeke-Uzodike, Durban University of Technology, South Africa

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Obianuju Okeke-Uzodike is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at Durban University of Technology in South Africa

See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule

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