Geosciences in the Distance. Experiences of a COIL course during the pandemic

The COVID-19 Pandemic forced us to change the way we communicate, as well as how we pass along and receive knowledge. We rapidly went from teaching face-to-face in classrooms, where student-teacher interaction was one of the essential components of teaching, to remote communication through electronic devices, in which we frequently remained undercover behind the screen, showing just our name, a pseudonym or a static image. Personal contact, the act of looking directly into the eyes of the other, or the possibility of, in a glance, seeing if the students were paying attention, is long gone. They repeatedly said: “It’s the new reality.” 

The State University of New York (SUNY) was the first to develop COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) courses, which were included in their program to put teachers and students in contact around the world. COIL courses are not the classic ones where the teacher reads and dictates the lesson and the students just listen. It allows interaction between students from different locations, who form groups, talk, discuss, share experiences, and exchange ideas; a collaborative work to which the social and regional experience of each person is added.

In the spring, 2021, during the pandemic, UNAM’s offices in Tucson, United States, and in Costa Rica, proposed a COIL course on “Subduction Zones in North and Central America,” together with the University of Arizona, the University of Costa Rica, and UNAM. Of course, the subject was of interest and importance for the regions of the United States, Mexico, and Central America, and established it’s the objectives to create a friendly environment so that students from those regions could learn about other cultures and tectonics; promote interaction and creation of international networks; help build a culture of self-awareness and self-confidence, with the hope of creating potential international employment opportunities; development of teamwork skills in students and multicultural collaboration, as well as to encourage them to have a curious mind, to learn to identify scientific questions, particularly those related to subduction processes.

Students were expected to share their perspectives on their culture, concerns, and personal goals; share and discuss global challenges such as climate change, environmental pollution, and geological risks, and meet with international groups to carry out a comparative analysis of subduction areas. In the case of the instructors, they had to create a friendly environment among the students; prepare and record lessons on the main topics of the course; provide a list of references; share a series of questions with the students to guide and moderate the debates, and review assignments and materials delivered by them.

Since several universities were involved in the COIL course and had different calendars (even more during the pandemic), we decided that the course would last five weeks, and tried to match the academic calendars of each institution. Seven teachers participated and UNAM-Tucson was in charge of the organization. The teachers would have a video on their topic and the questions ready one week before the students presentation , so they would have that time to meet, discuss and prepare the presentation. An important decision: the language for the course would be English. Each session was held on a Saturday, lasting up to three hours.

Promotion of the course was carried out through the electronic media of UNAM’s Offices in Tucson and Costa Rica, and of UNAM itself, and those of several higher education institutions. The registration process lasted 15 days. 38 students were enrolled; 22 women and 16 men, of which 17 were from UNAM, seven from the National Polytechnic Institute, one from the Olmec University (Tabasco, Mexico), one from the National University of Engineering (Lima, Peru), three from the University of Sonora, one from the University of San Agustín (Arequipa, Peru), one from the Polytechnic School of the Coast (Guayaquil, Ecuador), two from the University of Twente (Netherlands), two from the University of Washington, one from the University of Florida, and two from the University Arizona. The students’ knowledge areas were Geology, Geosciences, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Oceanography, Tectonics, and Volcanology. Regarding student’s programs, 25 were studying for their bachelor’s degree, nine were doing their master’s, three their PhDs and one more participated informally without informing his program. As can be seen, there was a great diversity of institutions and backgrounds, which improved the course.




The course began with an ice-breaker meeting in which only the students participated. Every Saturday, each group presented their work, answering the questions posed a week before. All students participated in the group presentations. We were able to observe how the fear of making online presentations or interventions in a Zoom platform, went changing as weeks went by. Tools used changed too—like Power Point presentation software and sometimes videos, or a completely pre-recorded session, because internet connection was not as fast or stable as desired. Another important change was the suggestion that the groups be mixed so that they would get to know each other better, and although it was not easy, it was done. The students complied with the COIL course policies: commitment, punctuality, respect, recognition of cultural differences, patience, and kindness, avoiding offensive comments and sarcasm, and not doing other activities simultaneously.

Finally, the teachers responsible for each group were the ones who graded the work and granted the credits corresponding to the COIL course, following normal procedures in their respective institutions.

The COIL course on “Subduction Zones in North and Central America” was a nourishing experience for the students and for their teachers. The COIL strategy is definitely here to stay. 

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