The Division of Global Engagement (GE), in collaboration with the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC), invites proposals from UCSC instructional faculty (Senate and Unit 18) who wish to develop a Global Classroom.
Proposals are now accepted on a quarterly basis, with deadlines falling at the end of the eighth week of instruction.
Deadlines
For AY 2024-25:
- Fall 2024 – November 20, 2024
- Winter 2025 – March 28, 2025
- Spring 2025 – May 23, 2025
Proposals will be reviewed as they are submitted. Faculty will be notified of the results of their proposal review within three weeks of submission. Criteria for review are provided in the section below entitled, “How to Submit a Proposal.”
Faculty whose proposals are approved will commit to learning, together with their faculty partner abroad, how to develop and implement a Global Classroom. They will be supported with professional development training in Global Classroom course design, ongoing instructional design support, and funding for travel that supports their development and delivery of the Global Classroom course. For details, see the section below entitled, “Benefits.”
Read the recent Global Classrooms article in TLC Spotlight on Teaching to learn more about the initiative and the faculty experience.
FAQs
What are Global Classrooms?
- They are existing UCSC courses that faculty enhance by incorporating a range of design and pedagogical approaches referred to as “Virtual Exchange (VE)”, “Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)”, or simply “VE/COIL”.
- In a Global Classroom, the UCSC faculty, working together with a partner faculty who is teaching their own course and students at an institution abroad, leverages online technology and tools to integrate international class-to-class, student-to-student collaborations that open access to new and impactful opportunities for intercultural and interdisciplinary learning in the classroom.
What if I don’t have a faculty partner?
- By design, the Global Classroom model is collaborative, and necessitates partnering with another faculty, course, and institution abroad. If the Global Classrooms model interests you, but you don’t have a partner in mind to work with, fear not! The Global Classrooms support team can help you find a partner! The Division of Global Engagement maintains an existing network of UCSC partner universities (see a list here). We can help to arrange an exploratory meeting(s) with prospective faculty partners at one or more of these institutions, with the intent for you to share ideas and identify a suitable collaborator to work with and submit a proposal by one of the quarterly deadlines.
- Our page, Finding a Faculty Partner, will provide you with some additional ideas to help you get started in a partner search.
What type of course should I adapt to a Global Classroom?
- Global Classrooms are typically best suited to smaller class sizes with an average enrollment under 30, and can be undergraduate or graduate level.
- Your partner abroad may be teaching in a similar or complementary discipline – interdisciplinary projects are welcome and encouraged.
- Collaborations between students in a Global Classroom can vary in scope and duration, but typically range from five to eight weeks within a quarter-length course (and especially when interacting with a semester-based course abroad), and almost always include:
- Activities jointly planned by you and your partner at a university abroad
- Project-based learning, requiring students from both institutions to work together through synchronous and asynchronous online engagement
- Use of online, collaborative tools to carry out teaching and learning activities
Benefits
UCSC faculty whose proposals are approved will receive:
- Training in VE/COIL Design
- The “Global Classrooms Classroom” is an online workshop designed in collaboration with the UCSC Teaching and Learning Center (TLC). The UCSC faculty and their partner abroad engage in the workshop materials together, over a contiguous three-week period, mostly asynchronously. The estimated overall time commitment is approximately 10 to 15 hours.
- The workshop is available “on demand” through Canvas, meaning that the UCSC faculty and their partner choose when to begin, and are encouraged to identify a period when they will both be able to fully engage in materials and reflect together.
- The Global Classrooms support team will also schedule three synchronous weekly consultation meetings with the UCSC faculty member and their partner abroad during the three-week period to check in on progress and answer any questions that may arise. With the understanding that time zone differences may present scheduling challenges, we will do our best to schedule consultations at a time that is convenient for both partners.
- Instructional Design Support
- The UCSC Teaching and Learning Center can provide instructional design support to the UCSC faculty and partner throughout their Global Classroom course development and implementation periods.
- Travel Funds
- Upon successful completion of the workshop, up to $4,000 USD** in reimbursable travel funds can be made available to the UCSC faculty to travel to visit their partner, to continue developing plans for the Global Classroom and to strengthen ties with the faculty partner and their institution. Alternatively, these funds may be used to bring the partner to visit UCSC for the same purpose. Detailed guidelines for permitted use of these travel funds will be provided to the UCSC faculty member upon acceptance of a successful proposal.
** UC faculty from campuses other than UCSC who submit successful proposals to participate in the UCSC training in VE/COIL design are only eligible for a $2,000 USD honorarium.
Expectations
A successfully proposed and developed Global Classroom should be delivered no later than the end of the academic year that follows the academic year in which the UCSC faculty and their partner complete their training workshop. For example, a UCSC faculty member and their partner who begin their training and subsequent development of their Global Classroom in the fall quarter of 2024 would be expected to offer their Global Classroom course no later than the spring quarter of AY 2025-26 (according to the academic calendar in the northern hemisphere, i.e. April to June of 2026).
Timeline
Proposals are accepted and reviewed quarterly, so faculty may elect to begin this process at any time of year. The sample timeline below is provided for illustrative purposes and is meant to give a sense of a typical progression, from proposal through implementation.
Fall:
- UCSC faculty and their partner abroad begin discussing preliminary ideas for connecting their courses in a Global Classroom.
- If the UCSC faculty does not have a partner, Global Engagement can provide support to identify one. Meetings with one or more prospective partners can be scheduled to identify a suitable teaching partner.
- With a faculty partner successfully identified, the UCSC faculty prepares and submits a proposal.
Winter:
- UCSC faculty and their partner abroad identify a three-week period to engage in the training workshop together, and the Global Classrooms support team schedules three synchronous consultation meetings.
- As the UCSC faculty and their partner develop their designs, further follow-up consultations and opportunities to meet with peer practitioners in VE/COIL may be scheduled.
Spring or Summer:
- Suggested period of use for travel funds, to meet with the faculty partner in person, to finalize Global Classroom plans, to learn about the partner institution’s context and curriculum, to meet with students at the partner institution, etc.
Following Academic Year:
- The first implementation of the Global Classroom course begins.
How to submit your proposal
If you have any questions before submitting your proposal, please contact Colin Cole, Partnership and Program Manager, globalclassrooms@ucsc.edu.
A complete proposal consists of two parts:
- Statement of Intent
In no more than two pages, respond to the following prompts:- Provide a brief description (and append a recent syllabus) of the course you propose to adapt as a Global Classroom. Be sure to include pertinent details, i.e. the quarter(s) the course will be offered, anticipated frequency of future offerings, and average enrollment.
- Provide a brief profile of your faculty partner abroad and their institution as well as a description of their course (append a syllabus, if available).
- Explain how your course and your partner’s course are good candidates for connecting and adapting to the Global Classroom model, and explain how the intersection of content and collaborative online learning will provide your respective students with a challenging, engaging, and enriching international experience.
- Provide any relevant additional information: e.g., any particular experience or qualifications you or your partner may have that are relevant to developing, teaching, or supporting a Global Classroom collaboration.
- Supporting Documents:
- Syllabus of your course
- Syllabus of your partner’s course (if available)
- Department/College Endorsement Form (download fillable PDF here). Please discuss your plans with your department, college, or program chair and have them complete this form.
- Faculty Partner Abroad Confirmation Form (download fillable PDF here). A clear commitment from your partner abroad as well as their institution is key to a successful Global Classroom collaboration. It is recommended that you contact your prospective faculty partner as soon as possible to discuss ideas, feasibility, and provide an overview of the expected timeline and commitment. Please have the faculty partner complete and sign Section 2 of this form.
Complete proposals should be submitted as email attachments to globalclassrooms@ucsc.edu, copying your unit head (department or program chair, college provost).
You may submit your proposal as soon as it is ready and complete, but please no later than the published deadline for the quarter in which you are seeking review of your proposal.
Faculty will be notified of the results of the review of their proposal within three business weeks of submission.
Criteria and Review
A committee will review and evaluate proposals for approval based on the following criteria:
- Clarity of explanation of a tentative plan for adapting the UCSC and partner courses to the Global Classroom model
- Quality of explanation of expected benefits for students
- Clarity of commitment from the faculty partner abroad to collaborate
- Evidence of feasibility for course-to-course interactions between students, e.g. sufficient overlap in academic calendars, comparable numbers of student enrollments, availability of technical/instructional design support, etc. Or, clarity of explanation of tentative plans to overcome any foreseen challenges to feasibility.
Questions? Contact Colin Cole, Partnership and Program Manager, globalclassrooms@ucsc.edu.