Finding partners

Forming an international COIL partnership is the first step.

List of websites that offer to find partners:

COIL Connect for Virtual Exchange (established by Jon Rubin)https://coilconnect.org/ The SUNY COIL Center (charges a fee to join and also provides training workshops for and additional fee)https://coil.suny.edu/ UNICollaboration (network in Europe since 2016; manages an instructor-to-instructor partnering platform and offers trainings, charges a fee to join)https://www.unicollaboration.org/

Those who are contacted may already understand what COIL is and the value of developing new COIL partnerships.

Some tips:

• find out about collaborations agreement signed between your and other educational institutions, existing institutional partnerships may help in looking for potential COIL partners
• finding a match: create a profile based on teaching of a particular discipline or in a particular institution, sharing a research interest, language, why you want to COIL, etc.
• promotion via web: reach out to international partner institutions by developing an accessible web presence stating your reasons for designing COIL and how COIL can positively affect students; website is also a place where stories about successful COIL project can be shared

(Corbett et al, 2024, p. 13; Rubin, 2023a, p. 123,  Doscher, 2023a, p. 249)

Getting to know the partners. Developing trust

The main goal: establish trust and mutual respect

Initial contact: exchange information with potential partners about yourselves and your teaching contexts.

Initial email exchange needs to be followed by online meetings (e.g. via Zoom, Skype, MS Teams, etc.). Meet synchronously several times before you commit to designing a COIL together.

Content of discussion:

• discuss the nature and purpose of collaboration
• share information about situational variables that may influence COIL’s feasibility:

exchange information about academic calendars, including time periods in which ‘to COIL’, time zones differences and holidays, your own and their students’ availability during and outside class meetings, on- and off-campus access to the internet and technology.

(Corbett et al, 2024, p. 16, Rubin, 2023a, p. 120-121)

List of situational variables :

	Less Demanding/ More Compatible	Median	More Demanding/ Less Compatible
Connectivity	High level of student and teacher connectivity at both locations, on and off campus	One location has higher level of connectivity, on or off campus	Low level of student and teacher connectivity at both locations, on and off campus
COIL Experience	Most students/teachers are experienced with COIL	One class of students/teacher is experienced with COIL	Most students/ both teachers are inexperienced with COIL
Language	High level of common spoken language fluency	Moderate level of common spoken language fluency	Low level of common spoken language fluency
Class Size	Small-size classes (less than 30 students)	Medium-size classes (30-50 students)	Large-size classes (over 50 students)
Ratio of Class Sizes	Similar-size classes (no greater than a 3:2 ratio of students between classes)	Moderate difference in class sizes (between a 3:2 and 2:1 ratio of students between classes)	Very different class sizes (greater than a 2:1 ratio of students between classes)
Time Zone Difference	Similar time zones (0-3 hours)	Moderate difference in time zones (3-7 hours)	Large time zone difference (8+ hours)
Synchronous Video Exchange	Possible on and off campus for both groups	Possible only on campus for one or both groups	Not possible for some or all students on or off campus
Course Development Time	Teachers have 3+ months to engage and develop course design	Teachers have 1-3 months to engage and develop course design	Teachers have less than 1 month to engage and develop course design
Academic Calendars	Academic calendars align well, allowing for an extended COIL module (8+ weeks)	Academic calendars moderately align, allowing for a typical COIL module (5-8 weeks)	Academic calendars briefly align, allowing for a minimal COIL module (less than 5 weeks)

(Adopted from Doscher and Rubin, 2023, p. 193)

Why connectivity is important:

The cost and availability is determined by economic conditions and politics. In some locations/countries, partners might be able to access the internet only at certain times of day, certain webpages and social media sites might be banned, sending photos and videos could be a problem for students especially out of campus because data are expensive, students can access the internet only via their smartphones, making it impossible for them to use more complex digital platforms [ch 7] (ibid, p. 192).

Why experience:

New COIL teachers and students are recommended to connect with a more experienced partner. The more experienced partner should not dominate the COIL design process (ibid).

Why class size:

Classes need to be similar in size in order to build cohesive teams of equal numbers of participants from both classes/institutions. Having two members from one class and three members from the other on each team is acceptable, but collaboration becomes difficult for teams larger than six (ibid, p. 195)

Why time zones:

Time zone differences might be a consideration particularly because of synchronous sessions that are needed for both teachers and students to get to know each other and build relationships [ch 7]. It is not difficult to schedule a session when the time difference is less than 6 hours, but the greater the difference, the more challenging it could be for the students to participate. This is especially the case if one group of students is asked to join an online session early in the morning or late at night in order to accommodate the working/study schedules of the other group. The students may feel uncomfortable and could be less motivated to participate (Rubin, 2023a, p. 120-121).

Why synchronous video exchange:

The bandwidth and hardware demands could be more challenging to meet if students need to meet online off campus (usually at home or at work). Especially if a synchronous session can’t be held during regular class meetings (because the participants’ calendars do not align), students with jobs and families may not be available to participate outside class hours (Doscher and Rubin, 2023, p. 195).

Why course development time:

Substantial time is needed for preparation: to exchange information about institutions and courses, discuss the purpose, expectations, and objective of COIL [ch 4],  explore digital tools [ch 7]. It is recommended to allocate at least 3 months for planning, 2 months may be enough for those with more experience (ibid, p. 196).

Why academic calendars:

Time and availability is an important variable: you and your partner institutions must align the academic calendars to be able to meet in sessions simultaneously (Corbett et al, 2024, p. 16, Rubin, 2023a, p. 120-121).

Cultural differences and shared expectations

You and your COIL teaching partner will most likely come from different disciplines and educational systems. Your different teaching and communication styles will influence you in shaping a shared vision of student work and collaboration. Some of the teaching methods and practices you commonly use in the classroom might not be feasible for students’ online collaboration.  For example, you might come from an academic environment where it is a common practice to assign to students a 20-page academic journal text to read on a weekly basis. Such a practice may not work in an online environment and with students from a partner institution that is more practically oriented and where studying theories from academic texts and journals is not a norm.

Mutual adaptability based on some level of acceptance of each partner’s rules and norms, respect and sensitivity between the partnered instructors will be necessary. Your and your partner’s different perspectives on what to teach internationally and how to teach (pedagogy) needs to be shared and discussed as you start developing a COIL (Rubin, 2023, p.11, 2023b, pp. 58-59, 2023c, p. 73 and 94).