Mark G Dawson
I went to school in Scotland and studied BSc Geography at the University of Edinburgh. After some time working and travelling in Australia and New Zealand, I started my Higher Education career at Leeds Metropolitan University (now Leeds Beckett University) doing student pastoral support work before moving into a Learning Development (Study Skills) role at the University of Bradford. During this time, I also completed my MSc in Psychology and developed a particular interest in supporting collaborative learning/student groupwork. After a few years abroad in Germany/Cyprus working in vocational/secondary education with the British Army, I returned to the UK to work in Outreach/Widening Participation at the University of Cambridge. In September 2020, I started as a full-time Postgraduate Research student at Coventry University. My research investigates student/staff experiences of Collaborative Online International Learning, also known as Virtual Exchange. When not working on my PhD, I love travelling and reading about current affairs/the natural world.
Session
This presentation outlines the findings of Phase A of a PhD research project which qualitatively explores student/educator perspectives from recent COIL/VE projects. Although COIL/VE should be carefully designed, delivered and reflected upon, a poor exchange need not be a wasted opportunity. We’ll explore perspectives of the experience for students/educators and what this might mean for future practice and evaluation.