Sarah M. Surak, Associate Professor of Political Science, Salisbury University | smsurak@salisbury.edu

María Fernanda Batista Lobo, Faculty, Verto Education; formerly Faculty, La Universidad Latinoamericana de Ciencia y Tecnología (ULACIT) | maria.batista@vertoeducation.org

     In March 2020, countries across the globe implemented travel restrictions, dramatically curtailing global education programs. With the many unknowns of how a global pandemic might unfold, students studying abroad returned home in a matter of days; students planning to study overseas in subsequent semesters put their travel plans on hold. The pandemic temporarily halted international travel and exchange opportunities, but an innovative approach emerged to provide students with the opportunity for remote engagements: the “globally enhanced course.” At Salisbury University (SU), colleagues from the Janet Dudley-Eschbach Center for International Education worked with SU faculty to leverage existing partnerships and create new opportunities for students to experience global education from their homes and home institutions. We (Sarah Surak and María Fernanda Batista Lobo) were “matched” because of Salisbury University’s existing relationship with La Universidad Latinoamericana de Ciencia y Tecnología (ULACIT) in Costa Rica. While we had not previously met, our universities had exchanged students for study abroad semesters for several years.

     As political science and international relations professors, we understand the importance of global learning, especially studying abroad. We began our partnership in Fall 2020, connecting Introduction to Politics (SU) and Introduction to International Relations (ULACIT). Students in both classes are similar: first- or second-year students new to the study of political relations. Our initial goal was minimal. We hoped to meet four student learning outcomes: (1) Gain cultural understandings of the United States and Costa Rica through the perspective of your international peers, (2) Share knowledge about the field of study and current political scenarios in your country, (3) Discuss current international phenomena from different cultural and political perspectives, and (4) Build a network of international peers.

     To meet these objectives, students participated in three activities. First, students met in small groups for cultural exchanges to simulate informal learning in an international environment. We stressed that the purpose of the meetings was to learn from each other “outside of the classroom” in ways that might occur over lunch in a cafeteria or in the evening at an off-campus location. We suggested ten possible activities, from describing sports culture to cooking a meal together online. Students were required to meet three times and document their experience individually and as a group, identifying what they did, what they learned, what they found most surprising about the experience, and how the experience related (if at all) to course concepts.

     The three discussions were meant to build connection and trust as we introduced the central class assignment of participation (in the same groups) in two synchronous debates. Each group prepared a response to the discussion questions of “should governments provide social welfare payments to their citizens?” and “should states be obligated to comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the rights and obligations conferred by it?” We used a semi-formal structure where students prepared opening and closing statements and participated in a question-and-answer round. Students completed a reflection assignment describing their experience preparing for and participating in the debate. Finally, we gave guest lectures based on our academic expertise and national experiences. The first lecture provided an overview of federal voting procedures in the United States before the 2020 general election. The second explained the historical relationship between Costa Rica and the United States.

Collaborative Global Learning: New Practices and Partnerships

     Planning a collaborative exchange across time zones, disciplines, and institutions with faculty partners who have not previously met can result in unanticipated barriers. We found that the collaboration was a resounding success despite the physical distance, personal and professional stress resulting from the pandemic for everyone involved, and various logistical hurdles. It was so successful that we continue to collaborate every semester and now assess our engagement with a formal research project to understand the benefits and drawbacks of global collaborations for student learning.

    Our first exchange experience took place in Fall 2020. While Salisbury University maintained an in-person presence throughout the pandemic, at that point, almost all student activities and classes were exclusively online. From the outset, we observed that students were curious and open to the idea of virtual exchange, especially given the physical and social isolation necessitated by the pandemic. Students wanted to learn how others view the same global issues and discuss these differences from their cultural perspective and context. The discussions outside of the classroom spilled into expanded perspectives for conversations of dense topics such as the quality of democracy and what responsibilities constitute civil duties. Student satisfaction with the global experience noted on course evaluations was surprisingly high, with many considering it to be the high point of the semester. In the intervening year, students have reported they continue to keep in touch with their international colleagues and groupmates at their home university.

     Connecting online with peers from different cultures and countries felt “natural” for students as they have grown up as digital natives. However, we encountered some challenges as students realized the differences in connecting for social reasons vs. academic reasons. While unanticipated, part of this blurring was on purpose as the culture exchange discussions were meant to engage the experience of studying abroad. Student groups also found scheduling meetings difficult at times, as this portion of the exchange was organized, scheduled, and facilitated by the students. Our initial reasoning for this strategy was our assumption that students are likely better versed in communication technologies and more comfortable working across different platforms. We also wanted to give students agency over the discussions. We quickly found that using multiple platforms (Blackboard, Canvas, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and WhatsApp) can create confusion as not all students in each group successfully migrated to new spaces for communication. We also found that while some groups thrived in this open environment, other groups and individuals struggled with non-formal learning. We encouraged students both individually and within our classes not to focus on grades and “success” but rather the learning experience.

     One of the things that surprised us the most was the growth in confidence by the end of the global experience, particularly for skills such as public speaking, English literacy, teamwork, and communication. Students in both classes stated that they were surprised how much they enjoyed participating in the debates, noting the format encouraged critique and discussion of difference centered in a positive rather than negative environment. We were also pleasantly surprised to find that differences between English native speakers and non-native speakers were far more minimal than anticipated in their writing and oral communication performance. Another interesting result is the willingness and flexibility of students towards changes in the schedule and assignments. We made many small adjustments throughout the semester and faced very little resistance. We believe that this is indicative of how the experience also helped support the development of global competencies and attitudes such as openness, flexibility, adaptability, and empathy.

Moving Forward: Collaboration within the Physical Classroom

     While students are again studying abroad, we will continue to connect our classrooms in global exchanges. Along with the benefits we observed during COVID-19, we recognize that not all students can study abroad due to financial constraints, family needs, or requirements of their academic programs. Globally enhanced courses also encourage students to study abroad; our first student from an exchange class just completed an in-person study semester at the other university.

     While designing new projects is exciting for faculty, we also realize the importance of connecting course activities to learning objectives and assessing if we are meeting these objectives. To this end, we are now collecting data to evaluate student learning in our paired courses using three learning targets from the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Global Learning Value Rubric: perspective taking, cultural diversity, and understanding global systems (AAC&U, n.d.). In addition to other reflective writing, students now complete a pre- and post-global enhancement assessment where they reflect on how they understand key course concepts at the beginning and end of the semester. The questions correlate with the learning objectives for the collaboration.

     We also found this collaboration personally exciting and motivating. Our regular professional conferences were canceled or moved online, limiting exposure to new academic community members. Our students yearned to engage with people outside of their home bubbles, and so did we. We look forward to our continued collaborations and hope to meet one day in person.

     As we transition to a new stage in the pandemic, we face unique challenges. In our most recent exchange, students encountered far more scheduling issues than in previous semesters, likely due to increasing activities outside of the classroom as we begin to return to in-person life. Student enrollment numbers are also unpredictable now. One class was almost triple in size to the other, which resulted in larger groups to ensure that two students from each university were in each group. Most prominently, we observed differences in how our universities and students are returning to campus. While SU has returned primarily to in-person teaching, ULACIT remains online. We noticed that students that were only receiving virtual lessons remained more engaged and enthusiastic about the exchange activities.

     Some of the most salient results of the experience are expressed in the remarkable traits of resilience that students, faculty, and universities have shown through this pandemic period and having to adjust from in-person to virtual classes. With different readiness levels, resources, and contexts, both partner schools supported and encouraged our program that combined academic discussions and co-development of assignments. We needed to be creative, innovative, and empathetic, and we were and continue to do so. We hope to continue to find such silver linings as we shift our pedagogical practices to a new normal.

References

AAC&U. (n.d.). VALUE rubrics – global learning. Retrieved March 13, 2022 from https://www.aacu.org/initiatives/value-initiative/value-rubrics/value-rubrics-global-learning