1. Partners Facing the Pandemic: An Interdisciplinary U.S.-Japan Exchange Addressing COVID-19
1. Jane Marcus-Delgado; 2. Valeria Belmonti; 3. Lander Sims
- Abstract
- Context/ Purpose: In 2020, university students around the globe experienced the diverse effects of COVID-19. Two interdisciplinary classes – at the College of Staten Island of the City University of New York and Kumamoto University in Japan – partnered to undertake an academic and interpersonal examination of this unprecedented situation. The purpose of the project was to promote critical reading and critical thinking skills among students, while providing an academically and culturally diverse environment in which discussion and reflection provided opportunities for growth in interdisciplinary and intercultural understanding.
Methods: The COIL module was built upon an established relationship between the two institutions, and utilized a variety of techniques, including synchronous and asynchronous interactions, student video exchanges, and shared web-based readings and media. Students produced videos using Flipgrid that were based on four themes: personal stories, politics and government, educational policies, and culture. Approximately fifty students, divided into small groups, each created four videos and responded to their peers’ contributions. The U.S. and Japanese groups also met on Zoom several times, where they had face-to-face discussions about the course material.
Results: Preliminary results showed benefits to students in three or four areas: First, students in both groups demonstrated a higher understanding of the commonalities and differences in the partner country’s responses to COVID-19, as seen through social scientific lenses (i.e., political science, history, sociology, economics and anthropology). Second, students gained insight into perspectives of each other’s culture and worldviews through readings and direct interactions. Third, this is the second COIL module that the College of Staten Island and Kumamoto University have conducted, and the instructors’ previous experiences (with the support of an instructional designer) shed light on best practices in telecollaboration. Finally, the two groups gained interpersonal and intercultural connections both within their own classes and among their partnered peers.
Interpretation: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced institutions of higher education to rethink many aspects of internationalization and the global classroom. As practitioners with years of experience in telecollaboration, the instructors found the COIL partnership to be a “silver lining” of the pandemic. Students learned together, shared common challenges created by the situation, and respectfully contrasted each other’s responses through multi-faceted lenses.
Conclusion: While COIL has a long history of building bridges among global institutions, its utility during 2020 was unparalleled. The course’s content allowed students to learn about their peers in another country, to share scholarly resources on international institutions and practices, and to reflect upon themselves as global citizens facing a common public health adversary. - Presented by
- Jane Marcus-Delgado, Valeria Belmonti, Lander Sims
- Institution
- 1. College of Staten Island, CUNY (USA); 2. College of Staten Island, CUNY (USA); 3. Kumamoto University (Japan)
- Keywords
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