COIL - Course content

Creating the course content for your COIL

Agree on the following:

• Common subject area of the course. 
• Teaching period. Ensure there’s enough overlap between the partners’ academic calendars so that the students have time to work together on the joint learning activities.
• Number of credits. Please note that the degree regulations on the amount of ECTS per course may vary from institution to institution. 
• Discuss the learning outcomes for your and their students and how both partners understand terms such as ‘learning outcomes’, ‘assessment’, ‘evaluation’ and ‘reflection’. An intercultural learning component should be clearly reflected in the learning outcomes set for students.
  
• Rough lay-out of the course, i.e 
• • seminars, lectures, labs, local study visits if applicable
    
  • examination forms (whether it is only written exams examination moment can be interpreted in each university. In case of different grading criteria, one option could be to adjust the examination (paper, hand-out) criteria when the exam is made and each time an exam is given. 
• Agree on a few modules for the course where each partner is responsible OR agree on lecture and other course activities which each partner is responsible for.
• Agree on the number of students expected and the enrollment capacity of the course.
• Agree on prerequisites if applicable.
  
• Agreeing on terms and mode of cooperation (main responsible, subject area/module responsible, who communicates and how to students) before, during and after the course.
• Agreeing on course responsible who lists out the detailed course plan with details of each lecture, each seminar, lab, exam and hand-out.
• Agree on the learning management system(s). Some examples of currently used digital learning environments. Alternatively you can use one partner's learning management system (SELECT example). 
  
• Agree on how to take into consideration and support the multicultural learning environment. 
• Agree on how to collect feedback from students and instructors (before and after the course).
  
• Make sure you agree on the final consensus among the partners on the course plan.
• After the final consensus is reached, each partner needs to start off their process of new course initiation or course alterations according to the local process and rules. As such, please make sure you start the discussions well ahead of the participating universities’ course planning deadlines. 

Keep in mind: 

• Main lecture and seminar-like components should be done online for all the students taking the course across the universities. 
  
• If a COIL includes laboratory work, study visits etc. which may require physical components, they need to be held at each university without students travelling between the countries. 
• Teachers can travel if needed between the universities to conduct the above mentioned activities and broadcast the same to other universities, or do the same activity at both locations. Check Erasmus+ staff mobility funding options from your institutional Erasmus coordinator.
  
• It is essential to ensure that this activity aligns with the specific learning outcomes of each institution involved. Although not mandatory, integrating this activity into the curriculum can enhance its effectiveness, particularly when conducted over an extended period of several weeks or more. 
• You might need to find ways to accommodate different learning styles and backgrounds to cater two different student groups from two different universities.
  
• There should be a nice balance between synchronous and asynchronous student collaboration. One way to ensure this is to create a weekly schedule which lists how and when students will collaborate, and when a a synchronous group effort is needed and which tasks can be completed in parallel asynchronously.
• The COIL format might require different kind of support, for instance intercultural group work reflection activities, coaching opportunities and in some cases, language support sessions. Your local language centre and intercultural communication specialists might be able to provide assistance. 
• Consider a pre-COIL prep to introduce the concept to students (meeting with the students beforehand, an introductory webpage etc.). 
  
• Think of ways how students from different cultural backgrounds can learn more by collaborating; what activities could allow students to serve as experts for each other? What assignments encourage and facilitate cooperation and teamwork among the students to reach excellent achievements.