Abstract:
The teaching of classical Greek dramas is integral to drama education at the
University of Pretoria. In the past few years these dramas increasingly faced the
danger of becoming ‘foreign’/irrelevant to modern day students. The introduction
of performance practice to teach these dramas brought a whole new dimension to
teaching and learning in the course. In this case study we describe how the once
stagnant learning environment with the lecturer as sole distributor of knowledge,
was reframed to allow for learner engagement and empowerment. We document
the particular application of Heathcote’s ‘mantle of the expert’ against three
theories of educationally sound learning design. The nature of the learning that
resulted is then described, based on an in-depth analysis of qualitative data
gathered from two consecutive student cohorts. We conclude that this particular
teaching approach not only brought the ancient texts to life, but also succeeded in
empowering and motivating students resulting in a rich learning experience.
