Review 1: Innovating Teaching and Learning (2013)
Reviewed by Jana Ukušová

The publication Innovating Teaching and Learning (2013) by Ľudmila Adamová and Petra Muráriková (eds.) brings together eleven authors, mostly young researches/teachers and PhD candidates, from different Slovak universities and various fields of academic research. All of the contributions revolve around the central topic – teaching challenges and the ways to overcome them based on applying innovations. The authors present the real challenges they came across during classes they taught (lack of student motivation, differences in student skills and participation in class, inability to see the interconnection of theory and practice etc.), the applied models & methods of teaching and effectiveness of the obtained results.
The work is structured into 5 sections based on the given subtheme which helps the reader to gain an insight into the discussed issues and to easily navigate through the book. The first section intitled Improving Student Pre-class Preparation consists of three contributions. It opens with the chapter by Ľudmila Adamová who applied the so called method of just-in-time teaching (jitt) in order to encourage student’s regular pre-preparation for the course Contemporary English Language, a part of study programme in Translation Studies. In the next chapter, the issue of pre-class preparation is approached from a different perspective by Marek Živčák. The author uses the e-learning tool of self-scoring quizzes so that students gain general information on the discussed topics out of the class and participate more actively in class (seminar on Physiology of Plants). These two chapters are complemented by the paper of Katarína Hrnčiarová who presents her method to resolve the same issue, more precisely the use of blog assignments in philosophy class in order to stimulate students’ pre-class preparation through essays making students think about the discussed questions and defend their lines of reasoning.
The second section focuses on challenges in teaching large classes. Petra Muráriková shares her experience gained when teaching the course Bachelor Thesis Seminar. She applied the method of blended learning, combining face-to-face methods in class and computer-mediated activities, to enhance students’ motivation and to ensure their systematic progress with their bachelor theses. The next author, Peter Dzurjaník, discusses the challenge in teaching the course The Pillars of the European Civilization, attended by nearly 90 students. The author decided to apply the method of problem solving class, consisting of assigning open-ended questions to groups of students.
In the third section, the issues related to teaching courses rich in complex terminology are being discussed. The first chapter of this section by Adriana Boleková deals with enhancing learning through the means of mnemonics and stimulation of imagination (creativity) in the course on anatomy. In the following chapter, Martina Lučkaničová discusses the use of different sorts of games to enhance students’ active learning in class (course on financial investments).
The section 4 Enhancing Student Abilities of Theory Application consists of the chapter by Anna Valušová who describes the method of assuring interconnection of theory and practice in teaching economics through the means of worksheets.
The last section on Making Assessment an Effective Tool for Student Learning comprises two chapters. The first chapter is authored by Terézia Repáňová who discusses the change of assessment criteria according to Bloom’s taxonomy in order to innovate traditional assessment criteria in the course Urban and Cultural Tourism. Then, Miroslava Petáková provides reflections on the use of new, more effective assignments, exercises and homework aimed at improving students’ skills in academic writing. The concluding chapter summarizes the challenges presented in the book as well as possible methods to successfully overcome them.
The publication serves as a valuable source of information as well as encouragement for young teachers, PhD candidates and other professionals from the teaching field who find themselves at the beginning of their teaching career and may struggle with similar or even the very same challenges as those presented in this work. It promotes truly student-oriented methods of teaching, aimed at stimulating students’ motivation, interest in the subject matter and development of their skills at various levels.