Page 59 - International Perspectives on Effective Teaching and Learning in Digital Education

Innovative Teaching Methods in Higher Education: The Case of University of Primorska

depend on the disciplinary background of those who create them (Whitton,
1).
Group investigation is defined as a learning process involving four fun-
damental stages. This technique consists of the stages of determination of
instructional goals, establishment of groups, implementation of the group
investigation and evaluation of the group investigation. It is one of the tech-
niques of the cooperative learning method (Baki, 8).
Interactive lecturing implies active involvement and participation by the
audience so that students are no longer passive in the learning process. In-
teractive lecturing also implies a different way of approaching the teacher’s
role (Snell, 9).
I-Search is an approach to research that uses the power of student inter-
ests, builds a personal understanding of the research process, and encourag-
es stronger student writing. The key element of this approach is that students
select topics of personal interest. This model also stresses metacognitive
thinking. Students are asked to keep a log of their action, thoughts, and feel-
ings as they move through the process. In addition, students are asked to
reflect on their previous research experiences to set the stage for an appreci-
ation of the research process (Tallman & Joyce, 6).
Jigsaw structure is meant to provide students with the chance to learn a
material from their peers. A material is divided into sections and one section
is for each student to take care of. The students who are responsible for the
same section get together and form a new group of which the goal is for the
students to master the section of the material and to enable them to teach
the other members in their original learning group later (Aronson, 6).
A learning contract is the final result of an ongoing process of negotiation
between a teacher and a student with the purpose of developing a learning
program that meets both the learning and the teaching agendas. Students
negotiating their learning goals, the methods by which those goals will be
met, the means by which the achievement of the goals can be assessed, and
at what level (Brewer et al., 7).
A learning diary is based on a written explication of one’s own learning pro-
cesses and outcomes. When this occurs over an extended period of time, it is
called a ‘learning diary’. Parameters, such as the extensiveness or the degree
of structure of the protocol may considerably vary depending on the con-
crete instructional setting where the method is applied (Rambow & Nückles,
).
Peer learning is the acquisition of knowledge and skill through active help-
ing and support among peers who are equals in standing or matched com-

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