How can I develop a COIL?

• 1. Preparation

  In order to prepare for a COIL it’s important to find an international partner. There are different ways to find an international partner:  

  International Office to International Office

  VU International Office can support you with finding a COIL partner. We have an extensive partner network with more than 220 universities worldwide that we already have an established relationship with. If you want to know more about the possibilities or already have an idea on which country or university you would like to collaborate with, you can email us via internationalrelations@vu.nl.

  Aurora Network

  VU Amsterdam is part of a European Alliance, called Aurora. Within this network of 9 partner universities, we are strongly committed to developing COILs together. Aurora also organises COIL matchmaking events, to find potential partners. If you’re interested, please email internationalrelations@vu.nl.

  Academic to Academic

  Maybe you already have someone in mind that you would like to collaborate with or want to use your own existing network. This can be very useful in developing a COIL as you already have a relationship with that partner. If you need help with the following steps or to set up a MoU, please contact internationalrelations@vu.nl.
  
  Once you know who you would like to collaborate with, you can analyse your curriculums together to decide where the COIL fits best and to get a general understanding of how it would look like. A COIL can be interdisciplinary, so you don’t have to teach the same subject. 

• 2. Designing the COIL

  Together with your partner, you’ll determine the learning objectives, the (interdisciplinary) instructional activities, and the assessment.  What teaching methods and assignments will you use to achieve the learning objectives? How can you support students, not only in completing the assignment successfully but also in excelling at intercultural communication and collaboration? Also consider icebreakers that allow students to get to know one another. 
  
  Discuss with your partner(s) whether your students will receive another assignment in addition to the COIL assignment. If so, what percentage of the final grade does the COIL assignment account for? How many (ECTS) credits can be earned? Practical experience shows that it works best when this is roughly the same for all students, so that the groups are equally motivated to complete the collaborative assignment. Each instructor then assesses the assignments of his or her own students. 

• 3. Implementation

  The COIL project is carried out according to the design agreed upon by the instructors. Students use various online tools to collaborate on their group assignment. 
  
  Stay in close contact with your students and with each other and discuss how your students are handling the assignment and interacting with their international classmates. 
  
  A COIL typically lasts about 6 weeks, but may be shorter or longer. 

• 4. Evaluation

  After the COIL is finished, you will evaluate together with your partner and with the students. What have they learned from the experience? What did they find difficult, what surprised them?  

  This evaluation is important, because ideally, you want to continue with the COIL for the next academic year. The hard work of designing it and implementing it for the first time is done, so in the coming years, you can focus on making it better and innovating your teaching with less of a time investment from your side.  

Get to know the COIL team from VU Amsterdam