Following the traces of naxian emery

What is it about?

The paper presents the project “Following the traces of naxian emery”, accomplished by the environmental team of Naxos 2nd Junior High school, during the school year 2007-08. The main purpose of this project was to inform the students and also a broader public about emery - a material that played, since antiquity, a significant role in naxian society and culture, and Greek history in general. In a framework of research and artistic creation, the team created educational material concerning the emery issue, which is available to other schools – “The emery educational kit”. This consisted of a) an information booklet concerning the stone, b) a puzzle game relative to emery mining, c) an educational board game about emery and d) a documentary film produced by the team and entitled “Following the traces of naxian emery”.

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Photo by Jed Villejo on Unsplash

Photo by Jed Villejo on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The project “Following the traces of Naxian emery” constitutes an example of application of geodidactics – through a cross thematic framework – in environmental education. Having a mineral as starting point, a school team became engaged in the creation of a complete research and artistic work, addressed not only to the members of the team, but also to the local society and a broader public. The students, agents of different interests, abilities and preexisting knowledge, contributed each one in a particular way, to the goal setting and implementation of the project. This way, they escaped the passive approach to learning, largely imposed by the school class and became active creators of a more meaningful learning.