인성함양을 위한 구성주의적 고전 읽기 수업 모형 - 아리스토텔레스 『정치학』읽기 수업 사례 -

Abstract

The goals of character education in college are to teach young adults to become well-rounded humans, establish self-identity, respect others in society, build solidarity, and develop civic and multicultural values. In short, college character education aims to foster ‘practical wisdom’ and pursuit of the common good ahead of personal interest. Aristotle’s Politics best fits this purpose in that it is a classic that contemplates the components of an exemplary life which fully exerts the virtues of a nation and human beings. In a classics reading course aimed at cultivating “good” human beings and citizens, a constructivist approach is preferable to an objective approach in promoting student interaction and effective action. Constructivism proposes that individuals gain knowledge through their own experiences and ideas, and social constructivism maintains that knowledge is acquired through learner interaction, such as sharing experiences, ideas, and knowledge among community members. Thus, taking a constructivist approach to reading classical literature can facilitate critical implications for modern society. The response-based reading and answerability proposed by the constructivist learning model suggests a cycle of ‘reading – discussion – writing’ within a reading community. In this study, we suggest a five-step constructivist teaching model to promote response-based reading and answerability within a reading community as a way to instruct a classics reading course aimed at character building. Next, we review the actual effects of the model by analyzing sample courses that were modeled on the five-step constructive method. The study analyzed students’ discussions, idea notes, and their biographies, and then evaluated the effectiveness of the method by looking at the degree of internalization of the values.