Using COIL to address global economic challenges

Liliana Harding (Lead Author), Isabel Rodriguez-Tejedo, Bryan Buckley

Research output: Contribution to conferenceOther

Abstract

Do you think that taking a global perspective is relevant in dealing with issues of relevance to international economic policy or sustainable development goals? If so, this paper invites you to consider to what extent you have achieved this in your teaching of economics. In turn, we shall illustrate how we have approached this problem, using a COIL (collaborative online international learning) framework.
While classrooms in advanced economies’ higher education include staff and students from around the world, the perspective of our discussions is most often shaped by the location of our institutions. The widespread experience of online learning has partially dissolved the real boundaries to finding global solutions to global concerns and thus calls for alternative platforms and enhance learning through a global debate. By extending the use of COIL we hence seek to capitalise on local knowledge while harnessing the potential of global communication systems.
International research networks have allowed many academics to travel across borders and are supplemented by exchange agreements for international students’ mobility. For all the benefits that in person interactions have brought to date for many, they have left many more behind where limited access to resources provide few chances for most students to have their voices heard in the global arena. Yet, the points of view of those ‘left behind’ could be precisely the voices that we need to solve global problems with differentiated local impact.
Working on the assumption that collaborative online international learning (COIL) offers a solution we have used it as a tool in teaching a variety of economic topics of cross-border relevance. In this paper we will thus illustrate how COIL has been employed to bring together students discussing global economic issues – from environmental concerns to international trade - based on a three-country partnership involving universities in the UK, Spain and the United States. We propose to present the challenges and opportunities this pedagogical tool has uncovered: from matching topics and curricula, to reflecting on how outputs bring value added to the learning and assessment process. Ultimately, we will draw on cross-border collaborative work of students using a global economic perspective and consider an example of their own reflection on the learning process.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 2023
EventDevelopments in Economics Education 2023 - Edinburgh
Duration: 4 Sep 20235 Sep 2023
https://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/dee2023/

Conference

ConferenceDevelopments in Economics Education 2023
Abbreviated titleDEE2023
CityEdinburgh
Period4/09/235/09/23
Internet address

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