I used to be allocated each year a group of Egyptian teachers, over in UK to experience our teaching methods. They would observe my lessons and I was asked to give demonstrations in group teaching.
I would give each group of pupils a small card with their task written on it. They had to research something as a team, using the entire school library (the stocking of which was another one of my responsibilities!) and any equipment I'd got hold of, scattered around the unit. It was intended to be self-directed learning (no computers in those days)
The Egyptians were very surprised, as their teaching methods consisted of chalk-and-talk, and repetition by the class of one fact after another, followed by a test. Rather Victorian.
It sounds a bit chaotic, but the children were used to this system, and produced some really good work, and learned to love finding out stuff.
(I also used the Egyptians themselves as a resource for our religious studies of Islam, being careful not to allow any attempts at conversion!)