Focus group analysis of engineering Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL+) compared to short-term study abroad programs

In recent years, the emphasis on global experiences for undergraduate students has increased. Institutions and educators have worked to create more opportunities for international collaboration for students. One is Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), a pedagogical method that allows for a deepened global engagement for students without international travel. The COIL method connects students and faculty from different countries to explore a subject, theme, issue, or idea through a project-based learning (PBL) experience. COIL presents many opportunities for virtual engagement to solve the lack of student mobility, as emphasized throughout the pandemic. Our university has expanded on COIL by offering full-semester COIL courses with an optional post-course short-term study abroad program. This experience is known as COIL+. Currently, more research is needed to seek to understand how these experiences impact students. We compare student learning outcomes among participants in COIL+, COIL, and traditional short-term study abroad programs (No-COIL). The objective of this study was to qualitatively analyze undergraduate students' COIL+ experiences compared to traditional short-term programming to comprehend and assess associated benefits, challenges, and opportunities. We conducted in-depth focus groups with eight questions in groups ranging from one to seven students to understand their experience in the program and at the university since the completion of the program. A student moderator guided these groups, and they continued without specific length restrictions as long as students provided feedback on the questions. We analyzed the transcripts from the focus groups using an inductive approach to coding the data to uncover themes. Preliminary results suggest that students discussed the following themes: educational outlooks, class applications, cultural interaction and exchanges, cultural intelligence, career outlooks, skill development, and advice to other students. Our draft paper discusses preliminary results by comparing and contrasting the No-COIL, COIL, and COIL+ student responses.