The Science of Connection: Designing Meaningful Virtual Exchange

Virtual exchange has transformed how students collaborate across cultures, tackle complex challenges, and develop the knowledge and skills needed in an interconnected world. Yet one important question deserves closer attention in virtual exchange: 

In this context, meaningful virtual exchange Collaborative Online International Learning (VE/COIL) goes beyond simply bringing students together online: it requires opportunities to engage with one another, encounter and consider different perspectives, solve problems collaboratively, and reflect on what they are learning through the experience. Drawing on insights from neuroscience, the learning sciences, and classroom practice, this webinar explores how meaningful human connection shapes learning and what those insights mean for the intentional design of VE/COIL experiences.  

Participants will examine how curiosity, empathy, cognitive flexibility, and collaborative problem-solving develop in digital learning environments while exploring practical strategies for designing learning experiences that intentionally cultivate these outcomes. 

Bringing together complementary perspectives from neuroscience research and classroom practice, this session will connect the science of how people learn with the experience of designing and studying VE/COIL in the classroom. Professor Nael Alami will examine what neuroscience and the learning sciences can tell us about the role of human connection in digitally mediated learning, while Professor Michael Wong will draw on his experience as a neuroscientist designing, implementing, and studying a multi-year COIL collaboration to consider what those principles look like in practice. Through a moderated conversation, they will explore how insights from their discipline can inform the next generation of virtual exchange and COIL —and invite educators to consider how their own disciplinary expertise might inspire new approaches to VE/COIL. 

What You’ll Gain

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to

• explain how neuroscience and the learning sciences deepen our understanding of learning through virtual exchange;
• explore instructional strategies that foster curiosity, empathy, and collaborative learning in digital learning environments;
• apply research-informed principles to strengthen the intentional design of VE/COIL experiences;
• consider how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, can support global collaboration while keeping meaningful human connection at the center of learning; and
• reflect on how insights from diverse academic disciplines can inspire innovative approaches to designing virtual exchange.

This webinar is part of the AAC&U VE/COIL Webinar Series, supported through the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative (JCSVEI), a program of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs administered by the Aspen Institute.