Abstract
AbstractConsidering the concept of critical teaching, teachers should seek to ensure the active participation of students, emphasisng the adoption of student-centred and group-centred teaching methods, which will provide students with relevant motivation for learning. From this perspective the current article focuses on a teaching proposal for the course of Ancient Greek Language in Greece and Cyprus, presenting the method of jigsaw-based cooperative learning as a teaching practice which promotes both active student participation and group cooperation. According to this teaching practice, the teacher actively involves the students in the learning process, promoting higher-level cognitive, metacognitive and emotional functions. Not only is this method compatible with the broader contemporary pedagogical and didactic principles, which aim to provoke students' interest, cultivate their social skills and relationships, develop their personal self-perception, and create autonomous and fulfilled personalities, but also it is harmonised with the main aims of the Ancient Greek Language Curriculum in these countries, which are fully aligned with both their education policy and their societal needs.
Highlights
The Ancient Greek Language has a prominent role in several education systems in Europe, including Greece and Cyprus, where it is considered to be an integral course for a deeper understanding of European and ancient Greek civilisation
This paper argues that the above aims of the Ancient Greek course can be better achieved through the adoption of critical teaching
This paper suggests that it is imperative to replace the teachercentred method of teaching the Ancient Greek language and to introduce teaching methods and practices which will incite students’ interest, involve them in the learning process and cultivate their social skills and relationships
Summary
The Ancient Greek Language has a prominent role in several education systems in Europe, including Greece and Cyprus, where it is considered to be an integral course for a deeper understanding of European and ancient Greek civilisation. Despite the need for the adoption of student-centred and groupcentred methods of teaching as suggested by critical teaching, in Greek-speaking countries there are cases of teachers who, even today, teach the Ancient Greek Language in Lyceum through a teacher-centred approach in learning (Makris, 2000; Tsiortas, 2008; Varmazis, 2008; Markoglou, 2017)1 According to this teachercentred approach, it is common for teachers to use the ancient Greek text as a tool for translation and grammatical and syntactic analysis, giving less emphasis to elements of content, conceptual and cultural understanding The procedure for teaching new knowledge through adopting basic principles of critical teaching and cooperative learning is described, focusing on the method of jigsaw-based cooperative learning as a teaching practice which promotes active student participation and group teaching
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