CUNY Class Information
Instructor: Prof. Elyse Zucker
Hostos Community College/CUNY
Composition and Literature
English 111-314A/August-December/ 11 AM-1:45 PM (this is a stacked session, so each class is the equivalent of two classes)
Length of COIL Collaboration: 5 weeks
International Class Information
Instructor: Two professors shared this class with me
College in the Philippines
Psychology of the Self
Fall semester, 2023
Length of COIL Collaboration: 5 weeks
Project Description
Students in this COIL exchange read two works of fiction and a poem –one story written by a canonical American author, another by a canonical Filipino author and a poem by a canonical American poet –all with settings situated in their respective cultures. Additionally, students read excerpts from contextual articles about the prose selections to facilitate an understanding of the respective writers, their cultures and how those cultures shaped the particular works of fiction considered. In some ways all three selections convey universal themes. In other ways, they are indigenous to their respective cultures, customs, and countries, opening new vistas for students in both classes to contemplate.
This project was accomplished so as to meet each course’s objectives and to help students gain insight into and information about the cultures, customs, traditions, values, psychology and history of the other class’s country –as well as (more) about their own. Throughout the exchange, students from both colleges met in their assigned groups to discuss the works of literature and the poem (and consider the supplemental material), and what the literary works indicate about their respective countries and cultures. Students shared one exact essay assignment and one overlapping essay assignment (based on the same selections but different prompts) yet both variations measure comprehension and other indicators of knowledge and skills, such as inference-making and identifying main ideas. After writing the reflective piece about the COIL experience and how it impacted learning and world view, students shared their reflective pieces with one another during the culminating event.
Online Platforms
In addition to IMMERSEU, as the platform required of the Filipino professors, students used WhatsApp, Zoom, synchronous and asynchronous sessions, and email.
Technology used for shared space: computers and cell phones
Technology used by students in bi-national teams: computers and cell phones
Zoom and IMMERSEU were the technological tools used and video/audio were projected on a Smart room screen.
