Evaluation of a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL): A food product analysis and development project

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) has gained popularity due to its effectiveness in bringing cross-cultural awareness to the learning environment and providing college students a rich international experience while at their home university. This new educational approach uses digital technology to link university courses together from around the world to build students’ cross-cultural competence. Forty-four students enrolled in a Global Nutrition Class at a university in California, and 14 students in a Culinary Innovation course at a university in Ecuador, participated in a 15-week COIL project. Over the course of the semester, students worked in groups to complete a food product analysis project. After the course, students completed a questionnaire that assessed their cultural competence, collaborative learning outcomes, outcomes related to nutrition or culinary innovation, and overall course satisfaction. Results revealed that there were significant pre to post changes in cultural competency among study participants. Additionally, 91% of study participants reported that they were highly satisfied with the COIL project. Eighty percent of students said that collaborative learning through COIL helped them achieve good academic performance. Gender, ethnicity, and university location were not significant factors associated with learning outcomes. In conclusion, the COIL project positively contributed to student learning outcomes.