Abstract
This paper discusses a teaching approach that can be used in Collaborative Online International Learning – Interdependent Intercultural Tasks (IIT). IIT are characterized by the following features: (1) they include culture-specific information that creates cognitive dissonance and motivates students to analyze information about another culture; (2) they provide instructions aimed at learning subjective information about individuals from another culture; and (3) they can only be performed through interaction between students from different countries. We expect two learning outcomes of implementing IIT in a Global Leadership course; an increase in (1) intercultural interaction when working on a collaborative project; and (2) awareness of general cultural differences and those related to a specific global problem. Preliminary findings suggest that employing IIT (i.e. having students discuss native and non-native country media articles describing culture-specific perspectives on a global problem) increases the frequency of student interactions outside the classroom and improves coordination between teammates.
Highlights
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) has become a common form of learning in higher education
We outline the process of developing and implementing an Interdependent Intercultural Tasks (IIT) and report on the impact of the IIT on intercultural interaction during the collaborative project and awareness of general cultural differences and those related to a specific global problem
We expected two learning outcomes of using the IIT; an increase in the frequency and quality of intercultural interaction when working on a collaborative project, and an increase in awareness of general cultural differences and those related to a specific global problem
Summary
COIL has become a common form of learning in higher education. An important advantage of this type of learning is the opportunity for students to gain intercultural experience without leaving their current place of residence and university. Student participation in online exchange is appealing because it requires less financial and organizational effort compared to traditional student exchange programs (Guth, 2014). These factors are relevant for students of state universities (i.e. East Carolina University (ECU), USA and Ural State Pedagogical University (USPU), Russia) who are first-generation, lower or middle income, and/or from small towns or rural areas. It is important to consider factors (e.g. team development) that may increase the effectiveness of implementation of COIL and student experiences during intercultural collaboration (Мinyurova, Krylova, & Rudenko, 2015)
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