Abstract:

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) has emerged as a powerful pedagogical approach for internationalizing curricula while maintaining accessibility and equity. This presentation describes the design, implementation, and outcomes of a COIL project focused on invasive plant species and ecosystem dynamics, co-developed across three universities in the United States, the Philippines, and Malaysia and embedded within undergraduate ecology, biodiversity, and forest science courses.

In this COIL, students investigated region-specific invasive plant species as a shared global ecological challenge expressed differently across local ecosystems. Through a structured sequence of learning activities, students conducted field observations in their own communities, documented key identification traits and ecological impacts, and exchanged evidence through asynchronous discussion boards, short field videos, and collaborative writing. A central instructional strategy was concept mapping to promote systems thinking, helping students visualize and explain interactions among invasive species, site conditions (climate, soils, physiography), biotic communities, and human disturbance.

The project culminated in a student-authored COIL book, developed through faculty-guided editing and quality review, which serves as an open educational resource (OER) and evidence of applied and collaborative learning.

Rather than focusing solely on outcomes, this presentation emphasizes how to teach ecology through COIL. It highlights instructional design decisions, assessment strategies, tools for managing group work across time zones, and approaches for integrating field-based learning into virtual exchange environments. Reflections on challenges and lessons learned are shared to support the transferability of insights.

This presentation will be relevant to educators seeking to implement COIL in ecology, environmental science, forestry, and related STEM disciplines, particularly those interested in applied, field-informed, and globally comparative learning experiences.

Keywords:

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), Ecology education, International collaboration.