Collaborative Online International Learning Classes to Enhance Co-Creation in Canada and Japan

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) globally accelerated distance learning. Students who wish to create new businesses pursue collaborative learning in a cross-cultural environment. However, the research on the effect of collaborative learning on such courses is scant. This study investigated the changes in students’ entrepreneurial competencies and cross-cultural knowledge, skills, and abilities before and after participating in an online global career course and the differences between students from three Canadian universities and a Japanese university in collaborative online international learning (COIL). Survey data were collected from June to August 2021, before and after the course, from 33 participants. The questionnaire survey was based on the five main categories of knowledge, problem-solving skills, communication skills, cross-cultural understanding and teamwork skills, and confidence and motivation. The results revealed statistically significant differences in all the categories before and after the course. Considering the effect sizes, all five categories except for confidence and motivation improved following the course, showing that both the individual and the collaborative learning in the course design worked well in the COIL approach. Although most of the students lacked a business background, they could understand the basic frameworks for business planning through self-study in the asynchronous sessions and considered the tasks and solutions in the synchronous collaboration stage. Furthermore, the students from the Canadian universities performed well in all five categories and the students from the Japanese university performed well in four categories. Considering the budget and accessibility, students’ learning outcomes in COIL have a positive effect on their understanding of global careers.