Achieving Knowledge in Action through Online Collaborative Learning: What We Have Learned?

Achieving Knowledge in Action through Online Collaborative Learning: What We Have Learned?

Internationalization is a priority area in higher education. Many institutions are exploring various approaches to achieve this goal including strategies such as internationalizing the curriculum. This paper provides an example of how educators can design and facilitate international authentic online collaborative learning that engages multiple perspectives, higher order thinking, and critical discourse. Given the affordances of digital learning technologies, students and educators are able to investigate topics with others from around the world within a virtual classroom environment. For 12 years, the authors facilitated an international collaborative inquiry for student teachers where they engaged in critical discourse with practicing teachers and teacher educators who acted as experts. Through a reflective process, the authors share highlights of their experiences and research, as well as identify tensions and disconnections at institutional (macro), program or department (meso), and instructional (micro) levels, that impact the ability to create and implement innovate practices in achieving internationalization of the curriculum. They conclude the paper by sharing three implications for educational institutions in creating conditions for authentic online collaborative learning.