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Faculty and Students Engage in Cross-Cultural Teaching and Learning Through COIL Program

Four College of Arts & Letters faculty members are part of the third cohort of the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Faculty Fellows Program-Africa, pairing them with faculty from an African country with the goal of engaging students in meaningful global learning experiences.

Graphic logo for the COIL Faculty Fellows Program featuring a dark green globe with continents visible. In the center is a white circle with the text “COIL Faculty Fellows Program.” Two bright green circular arrows loop around the globe, suggesting global collaboration. One small circle shows the Michigan State University Spartan helmet logo, and another highlights the African continent.

An online cross-cultural teaching and learning method, the COIL program links university courses, faculty, and students in different countries, providing both students and faculty with a collaborative intercultural experience. As part of the program, faculty from different countries partner to design and implement a class module. Students then work together across cultures to complete the activities created, thus offering a multicultural opportunity to learn, discuss, and collaborate.

A record number of faculty applied to be part of the third cohort of COIL Faculty Fellows Program-Africa with more than 100 applications received. Ultimately, 13 teams were selected, representing a mix of bilateral and trilateral COIL projects.

During the Fall 2025 Semester, these faculty went through the COIL training and worked on their class materials. Now during the Spring or Fall 2026 semesters, their students will participate in the COIL projects.

The following are the College of Arts & Letters faculty members and their partners who are part of the third cohort of COIL Faculty Fellows Program-Africa:

A headshot of Jonathan Choti, a man with short dark hair and a slight goatee, smiling warmly. He is wearing a light blue textured blazer over a white and purple checkered button-down shirt. The background is a blurred, brightly lit hallway with warm yellow and tan tones.
Jonathan Choti

Jonathan Choti, Associate Professor in MSU’s Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures, is partnering with Quin Elizabeth Awuor, Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Department of Languages and Literature at the United States International University-Africa in Kenya. This partnership pairs eight students in Choti’s Area Studies and Multicutural Civilizations: Africa (IAH 211A) class with eight students in Awuor’s Intercultural Communication class for a COIL project, titled Words of Attraction: Language and Communication Styles in the Social Connection of Dating in Kenyan and American Cultures, which focuses on language, communication, and culture.

A headshot of Philip Effiong, a man with short graying hair, looking directly at the camera with a subtle smile. He is wearing distinctive round black glasses, an olive green v-neck sweater, and a maroon collared shirt. He is seated in an office with framed traditional textile art featuring geometric patterns hanging on the white wall behind him.
Philip Effiong

Philip Effiong, Professor in MSU’s Department of Theater and in Integrative Humanities, is partnering with Ezinne Ezepue, Lecturer in Film in the Department of Theatre and Film Studies at the University of Nigeria Nsukka in Nigeria, and Stephane Dunn, Professor in the Department of Cinema, Television, and Emerging Media Studies at Morehouse College in Georgia, USA. As part of this partnership, students in Effiong’s Africa, Area Studies (IAH 211A) class will liaise with students in Ezinne’s class during the Fall 2026 Semester to analyze Africa-focused traditional narratives and deliberate on how modern technologies can be used to highlight and disseminate these narratives. Similarly, students in classes taught by Ezepue and Dunn are working together this semester.

A headshot of Stephen Esquith, a man with short gray hair, smiling . He is dressed in a dark suit jacket, a bright blue collared shirt, and a purple tie. The background is dimly lit and features horizontal panels of artwork with blue, teal, and brown geometric shapes.
Stephen Esquith

Stephen Esquith, Professor in MSU’s Department of Philosophy, is partnering with Aboubacar Niambélé, Assistant Professor in theDepartment of English and American Studies at the Université Yambo Ouologuem de Bamako (UYOB) in Mali. This partnership pairs Esquith’s Seminar in Social and Political Philosophy (PHL 850) class with students Niambélé’s UYOB class.It draws upon several common readings on democracy in the United States and in Africa. It is also connected to an ongoing community engagement project that Esquith is co-leading in Mali in 10 camps for internally displaced persons that the UYOB students are active participants in and the MSU students are studying as part of their seminar work. 

A headshot of Peter Glendinning, a man with short gray hair, smiling broadly. He is wearing light blue rectangular glasses, a blue blazer, and a crisp white shirt. He is holding a black Canon DSLR camera with an external flash attached. Behind him is a white gallery wall displaying two framed black-and-white photographs
Peter Glendinning

Peter Glendinning, Professor in MSU’s Department of Art, Art History, and Design, is partnering with Precious Hové, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Dean of the Faculty of Management at Women’s University in Africa, located in Harare, Botswana. This partnership will pair students in Glendinning’s Photography Two (STA 375) class with Hové’s MBA students during the Fall 2026 Semester. As part of this collaboration, titled Patterns of Learning in Africa and America: A project designed to COIL Artists and Entrepreneurs, studentswill expand their understanding of the range within which their creations can be shared, going beyond the traditional gallery walls to the entrepreneurial field of creative apparel design and production. The MBA students will gain real-world experience in partnering with artists in the development of textile designs for traditional and contemporary garments along with gaining knowledge of the important African economic and business impacts of their manufacturing and marketing.  

MSU COIL Faculty Fellows Program-Africa

At MSU, the COIL Faculty Fellows Program-Africa is operated by the Center for Global Learning and Innovation in partnership with the Alliance for African Partnership and African Studies Center (AAP). It aims to advance global learning through a combination of strategic partnerships, faculty instructional leadership, internationalization of the curriculum, and student success. The program provides faculty from any discipline the opportunity to explore the theory and practice of COIL through global partnerships connecting AAP Consortium institutions to design and implement COILed projects together.

Teaching faculty from any discipline at MSU can apply to be part of the COIL Faculty Fellows Program-Africa. In addition to the extensive COIL training, each fellow receives a stipend to be used for professional and project development.

The COIL pedagogy was initially developed by faculty at the University of New York (SUNY) with support from SUNY System Administration’s Office of International Programs and the SUNY Learning Network.

By Kim Popiolek

Categories: News / Philosophy / Student / Student / Theatre