Faculty learning together
COIL Community
COIL gets stronger when faculty have opportunities to talk honestly about what they are trying, what worked, what did not, and what they want to do differently next time.
A community of practice
COIL does not have to be something faculty figure out alone
As more Cal State LA faculty design and teach COIL projects, we want to create simple ways for them to stay connected to one another.
The community is not a committee or another standing obligation. It is a place to exchange ideas, learn from experience, and build relationships with colleagues who are doing similar work.
What the community can offer
Practical conversations around real COIL work
Community activities will focus on the questions faculty actually encounter as they develop, teach, and revise international collaborations.
Share what worked
Talk through an assignment, activity, partnership approach, or teaching strategy that worked especially well with students.
Work through challenges
Compare approaches to scheduling, group work, technology, student participation, partner communication, or other parts of COIL that can be difficult to get right.
Learn from another project
See how colleagues in different disciplines have structured their collaborations and what they changed after teaching them.
COIL Exchange
A place to talk about the work
As the initiative grows, we plan to bring faculty together for informal COIL Exchange conversations during the academic year. These are meant to be useful, low-pressure gatherings rather than another series of formal meetings.
Project conversations
Faculty can walk colleagues through a current or completed COIL project and talk about the choices behind it.
Questions worth discussing
A gathering might focus on one practical issue such as student teams, assessment, intercultural reflection, technology, or sustaining a partnership.
Ideas for what comes next
Faculty can develop new approaches, find connections with colleagues, or identify questions they may want to explore through future COIL projects or scholarship.
As your experience grows
There are different ways to stay involved
Share your project
Faculty who have completed a COIL collaboration can help others by sharing assignments, project ideas, student feedback, and lessons learned.
Support another faculty member
Experienced COIL faculty may choose to answer questions, share examples, or help a colleague think through an early project idea.
Explore scholarship
Faculty interested in research can connect COIL teaching with questions about global learning, intercultural development, pedagogy, assessment, or their own discipline.
Keep building the partnership
A successful first project can become a second collaboration, evolve into a different course, or lead to new teaching, research, or institutional connections.
Connect beyond Cal State LA
COIL is part of a much larger global community
Faculty interested in COIL and Virtual Exchange can also connect with practitioners, researchers, and institutions around the world.
International Virtual Exchange Conference
IVEC brings together faculty, international educators, instructional designers, administrators, researchers, and others working in Virtual Exchange and COIL.
UNICollaboration
A global professional organization connecting Virtual Exchange practice, research, professional development, and community-building across disciplines.
SUNY COIL
The SUNY COIL Center has played a foundational role in developing COIL practice and continues to provide opportunities for professional learning and connection.
New to COIL?
Start with COIL Foundations
Cal State LA faculty who are new to COIL should begin with COIL Foundations. It provides the common preparation for developing a meaningful international course collaboration and connects naturally to the community that follows.