Reflections on Tutoring Ancient Greek Philosophy: A Case Study of Teaching First-Year Undergraduates in the UK

Abstract

This is a case study of my reflections on teaching a first-year undergraduate tutorial on Ancient Greek Philosophy in the UK. This study draws upon the notion of reflective practice as an essential feature of teaching, in this case applied to Higher Education. My aim is to show how a critical engagement with my teaching practices and the overall learning experience modified, developed, or strengthened my practices, attitudes, and teaching philosophy during the course of one term. Methods for data collection included a weekly logbook, student questionnaires, teaching observations, reflective exercises, and peer discussions. The findings shed light on the complexities of teaching Greek philosophy to small groups and the challenges of the practitioner's reflective process in this teaching.

Keywords::

• reflective teaching
• self-study
• teaching ancient philosophy
• collaborative learning
• graduate teaching assistant

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank my students at King's College London, Saranne Weller, Katharine O'Reilly, Baskaran Balasingham, Raphael Woolf, and Studying Teacher Education's anonymous reviewers for their useful observations and comments. I also benefited from discussion and suggestions received during the graduate module, Enhancing Academic Practice, taught by King's Learning Institute at King's College London. I am especially grateful to Gabriela Martínez Sainz for helpful and insightful discussion.