Universityof Western MacedoniaGreece
Headline of Greece’s chapter:
“Participation’’
as a collaborative learning process
in first-and second grade:
a time-consuming process counteracting the
achievement of cognitive learning objectives?
Gothenburg Meeting, 28-29 September, 2015
The title of the Chapter and, more precisely itssecond part, expresses the view of the majorityof the primary school teachers, participating inthe stage of initial needs analysis, which statedthat
“Participation’’ as a collaborative learningprocess in first-and second grade is a time-consuming process counteracting theachievement of cognitive learning objectives.
Gothenburg Meeting, 28-29 September, 2015
This traditional view of participation was the main
problem for us, which we tried to encounter in the
Greek Signals Project.
More specifically, as we have explained in our
signals-meeting in Budapest, a number of teachers are
familiar with modern concepts, such as ''Participation",
"Co-decision", "Communication", "Cooperation", "Activity-
Oriented Interaction“, and they are aware that these
concepts constitute an educational process and a tool for
socialization into the democratic system.
Gothenburg Meeting, 28-29 September, 2015
A two-faced and contradictory procedure
On the theoretical level, teachers agree with
this position, but on the other side, in their
teaching practice they fall back to old habits,
because they believe that the modern
conception of participation is “time
consuming”, competing with “learning” from
their traditional point of view.
Gothenburg Meeting, 28-29 September, 2015
Encounteringproblems/difficulties
In our attempt to solve this contradiction, we
focused on group work with the purpose to
develop children’s cooperative and
interactive skills, and to create an enjoyable
and playful environment resulting into
immediate outcomes.
Gothenburg Meeting, 28-29 September, 2015
Structure of the Chapter
Introduction
1 Initial needs analysis
1.1 Field investigation
1.2 The Greek Language Curriculum and the Concept of “Interaction”
1.3 First Phase of pilot implementation: Children’s interviews
1.4 Second phase: pilot implementation of game involving children’s active participation, interaction and co-decision
1.4.1 The game: Restructure the song
1.4.2 Assistant researchers’ Observations: “communicative/interactive strategies instrument”
1.4.3 Parents’ interviews
1.5 Pre - and primary school teacher’s views on children’s learning
2. Design and Implementation of the Project
2.1 Rational of the project design and description of the Thematic Units
2.2 Project Implementation
2.2.1 Stages of implementation
2.2.2 Parents’ involvement in the project
3. Project Evaluation: Estimating the effectiveness of the project
3.1 Parents’ views on their experience from the project
3.2 Children’s views
3.3 Teacher’s journals
3.4 Assistant researchers’ journals
4. Concluding remarks
References
Gothenburg Meeting, 28-29 September, 2015
Closing remarks 1/3
I would like to point that the data indicated the
need for reflection on the current practices and
improvement of the practices in relation to:
a) task-based learning,
b) providing children with opportunities for activeparticipation, cooperation and co-decision,
c) developing skills and strategies of co-constructingknowledge
d) encouraging children's expression through verbaland nonverbal communication.
Gothenburg Meeting, 28-29 September, 2015
Closing remarks 2/3
Based on the positive aspects of the interventions that were ‘traced’from the project evaluation,
we suggest that such a project could be implemented as an alternativeeducational practice in some other primary schools in Greece.
Positive aspects resulted also from parental participation, since parents’involvement in their children’s activities by interacting with them andco-deciding proved to be an important factor in children’s learningprocess.
In the proposed cooperative working context, children felt free toexpress themselves, and to interact with other peers on a commontarget. Mostly, the ‘weaker’ and introvert pupils felt relaxed to expresstheir views without the fear of any ‘rejection’, since they realised thatall opinions are useful when being involved in a process of co-deciding.
In such a game-based environment, children get to know ‘themselves’and the ‘others’ in a better way.
Gothenburg Meeting, 28-29 September, 2015
Closing remarks 3/3
Last but not least, teachers could experience the
culture of ‘democratic dialogue’ and realise that
‘participation - cooperation - interaction’, as learning
sub-processes, are not time consuming, compared to
the traditional ones. On the contrary, they compose a
creative process resulting into children’s development
of communication, cognitive and social skills, and as a
result achieving learning to do, learning to learn and
learning to be together.
Gothenburg Meeting, 28-29 September, 2015
Dissemination and Sustainability
Some units of the Greek SIGNALS syllabus have already been tested in the following pre-graduatecourses in the Faculty of Education of the University of Western Macedonia.
1) Curricula of Early Childhood Education. Teaching Strategies (K. Vrinioti)
2) Strategies of Acquiring/learning a language and Communication strategies (E. Griva)
3) Social pedagogical approaches in the primary school (I. Thoidis)
Moreover, the principles, the design and the results of the Greek project were presented anddiscussed at the following international and national conferences:
* A paper with the title “Pre-and primary school teachers’ views on children’s learning: A criticalappraisal of the Greek case” (K. Vrinioti & I. Thoidis) was presented at the 25th EECERA Conference,Barcelona, Spain (7-10 September 2015).
*A paper with the title “Participation’ as a learning process: A project at the first grades of primaryschool” (K. Vrinioti & E. Griva) was presented at the 2nd International Conference on ReimaginingSchooling, University of Macedonia- Thessaloniki (24-26 September 2015).
*A symposium related to the implementation of the Greek project will be organized by K. Vriniotiwith all members of the Greek research group at a seminar conducted by the University of WesternMacedonia- Florina, on 4th December, 2015.
Gothenburg Meeting, 28-29 September,