(Image courtesy of the American Council on Education)
DePaul has been named one of six U.S. colleges and universities chosen by the American Council on Education to be a part of the U.S.-Japan COIL Initiative. This work aims to expand U.S.-Japan higher education ties through collaborative online international learning, also known as COIL, a method of linking faculty and students in two countries for shared teaching and learning using online communication.
DePaul joins the institutions James Madison University, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Sinclair Community College, City University of New York College of Staten Island and Northern Arizona University in this initiative. Each will partner with a Japanese higher education institution to develop, deliver and assess COIL courses to be offered in 2019.
“We are delighted to see the work that DePaul has been in doing with the Global Learning Experience, our version of COIL, recognized at the national level, and we are looking forward to expanding GLE’s reach to Japan”, says GianMario Besana, associate provost for Global Engagement and Online Learning.
Yuki Miyamoto, an associate professor of religious studies at DePaul, and Nobuko Chikamatsu, an associate professor of modern languages at DePaul, will collaborate with professors from Nagasaki University to develop a joint syllabus. Students in the two countries will then work together to complete assignments that meet shared learning objectives.
Alex Joppie, an instructional designer in the Center for Teaching and Learning, will join Miyamoto, Chikamatsu, and Besana in participating in a workshop alongside other U.S. and Japanese teams in Washington, D.C., this October. Once the COIL courses are underway in 2019, representatives from ACE and invited experts will visit campus to provide additional support and monitor progress.
Originally developed and disseminated by The State University of New York’s COIL Center, often referred to as virtual exchange and known at DePaul as GLE, COIL is a cost-effective, accessible method for delivering global learning and intercultural experiences to greater numbers of U.S. students. ACE will work with the SUNY COIL Center to provide professional development and support to the U.S. institutional teams selected for the initiative.
The initiative is designed to test the idea that students who participate in COIL courses will increase their understanding of the partner country, sharpen their cultural competency skills, and become better prepared for in-person education exchanges. If successful, ACE aims to expand the program to include additional U.S. and Japanese partner institutions.
The U.S.-Japan COIL Initiative is supported through a grant from the U.S. Embassy Tokyo and coordinated in partnership with Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.