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Second Mantle of the Expert Conference

Wednesday 20th January 2010

Mantle of the Expert, Second National Conference

Presented by The National Association for the Teaching of Drama and Gwent Theatre

Mantell yr Arbenigwr yng Nghymru

Dysgu creadigol wedi ei ganoli ar y plentyn

Mantle of the Expert in

A child-centred approach to creative learning

Gwent Theatre, Abergavenny,

Monmouthshire,

28 June 2010

9:00 – 16:00

Following the tremendous success of the first MoE conference at Gwent Theatre, we have decided to offer a second opportunity for students, teachers and teacher trainers to benefit from this invaluable training opportunity.

As a part of the National Association for the Teaching of Drama’s network of regional events we are offering a second conference for those who missed last year’s.

The conference workshops will be led by experienced practitioners of the approach (Luke Abbott, Tim Taylor and Iona Towler-Evans) who will guide delegates through the fundamental elements of the Mantle of the Expert, including planning, drama conventions and inquiry.

Some comments from the last MoE conference at Gwent Theatre

Brilliant initiative – want more.

Enjoyed the whole day, it was completely new to me and I have learnt a lot.

It really opened up the possibilities of how to introduce a project and the stages to go through.  Absolutely fab day!

A pleasure to meet such a dedicated team, providing a wonderful method of learning.

An absolute joy to meet, listen to and benefit from the great lady herself.  Motivated? Yes!

Found it really inspirational and look forward to re-writing the planning for my class, to include a whole new opening and REAL child centred learning.  Fantastic.

I will be taking this straight back to the classroom and having a go!  Thank you for some well needed inspiration.

What is moe?

The Mantle of the Expert is a dramatic-inquiry based approach to teaching and learning invented and developed by Professor Dorothy Heathcote at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1980’s. The big idea is that the class do all their curriculum work as if they are an imagined group of experts.

They might be scientists in a laboratory or archaeologists excavating a tomb, or a rescue team at the scene of a disaster. They might be running a removal company, or a factory, or a shop, or a space station or a French resistance group.

Because they behave ‘as if they are experts’, the children are working from a specific point of view as they explore their learning and this brings special responsibilities, language needs and social behaviours.

Let us be clear: the children are not putting on a play or running a business. They are simply being asked to agree, for a time, to imagine themselves as a group of scientists, archaeologists or librarians with jobs and responsibilities.

Through activities and tasks, the children gradually take on the same kinds of responsibilities, problems and challenges that real archaeologists, scientists and librarians might do in the real world.

How can moe be used?

Dr Heathcote describes the Mantle of the Expert system as “an approach to the whole curriculum.” The idea is to create an imagined context, for the development of skills, and the acquisition of knowledge.

Through the Mantle of the Expert, children can encounter many aspects of the school curriculum.

For example:

A class of children studying the Tudor period are “framed” as experts in charge of running a Tudor mansion. They prepare exhibits etc. so that school visitors can learn about life in Tudor times.

A group of children are behaving and using signs to create people running a hotel. They have to consider the needs of international visitors. This leads into a number of different areas such as: languages; food; finance; advertising, etc. As their talk develops as though they are the people running the hotel-their language and knowledge need increases.

An older group of students in KS3 are imagining they are responsible French Resistance workers. They are working with the English and Humanities departments as well as the citizenship coordinator in the school. The class are driven to their work as they are to help a group of displaced Jewish refugees across Europe to ‘safety’. The English curriculum as well as the History Geography and Citizenship ones are harnessed by the context. Letters, secret files, reports of exploits from the point of view of the German command, researches into the Simon Wisenthal Trust and so on are thus made possible.

How does moe work?

In the Mantle of the Expert, there is always an “enterprise” to be run. And always a client who needs help with a job needing to be done. The emphasis is on the tasks the children need to do, to make the “enterprise” a success and to serve the needs of the clients.

The system permits the normal school context of class responsibility to change. Instead of the children relying on the teacher’s energy to drive the work and evaluate achievement, teacher and class share the responsibility for the quality of work. Running the enterprise is, like an enterprise in real-life, based in action and processes; thus it generates a range of different tasks: talking, listening, writing, speaking, making, designing, planning, measuring, weighing, etc. These tasks are channelled by the teacher towards the requirements of the school curriculum.

An Example

Trialled and tested at Tanys Dell CP Harlow

The children are running an “enterprise”: a store. They have to consider the needs of all their clients and customers particularly as the context is invented to challenge the abuse of recreational drugs. (One of the people running a section of the store-the teacher in role-is attempting to bring the plight of her son to the attention of the public by distributing leaflets in the store.) The teacher operates from two distinct standpoints-one within the fictional setting-taking various roles to challenge the class further in their learning through imagined experiences. The other standpoint is as teacher of standards and new knowledge, perhaps as a teacher who has seen a misconception occurring that needs reviewing –each standpoint brings with it different possibilities for learning giving teachers new horizons in choosing which pedagogic tools to apply.

Why use moe?

What are the advantages of working this way?

The “enterprise” provides a context for learning. Teachers can bring together different areas of the curriculum, rather than trying to teach them separately. It is ‘drama’ based, so that classes develop ways to ‘see through other eyes’ helping young people develop ownership over their enterprise. They are motivated by the challenge of making their enterprise work.

Provisional Booking Form

Delegate name

School/organisation

Postal address

Phone number

Please advise us of any special requirements (eg access or dietary needs)

All three workshop leaders are close colleagues of Dorothy Heathcote and will offer practical insights into the methodology of Mantle of the Expert.  Each leader will deal with specific areas including classroom practice, preparation and the use of the process as a cross-curricular strategy.  The specific focus of each individual session will be made available to you closer to conference. 

Cost per delegate:      £100 (£60 for students)

(including lunch and refreshments)

Please post booking form to Christine Miller, Gwent Theatre, The Drama Centre, Pen-y-Pound, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire NP7 5UD  to reserve a place on the conference.

An invoice will be issued to you nearer the date of the event.

Telephone Christine Miller on 01873 853 167

E-mail: gwenttie@uwclub.net

Released at 14:53 on 20/01/2010 | Permalink