I’m writing this on the final day of March. It’s incredible to realise how fast things have changed from just a few short weeks ago, when our response to Covid-19 was limited to teaching the kids to sing “Happy Birthday to you” twice over as they washed their hands. Now the world has flipped. We […]
He waka eke noa In early March, a group of teachers with a passion for Dramatic Inquiry travelled from all over Aotearoa to attend a two-day hui in Wellington. Our purpose was to begin the process of establishing a not-for-profit Charitable Trust. The Trust will produce resources, provide courses and provide support so that more […]
Exploremore is a brilliant new initiative from a group in the UK including Tim Taylor. I really recommend checking it out. As the blurb on the ‘exploremore’ site says, These ideas are a really simple form of learning using stories and adventures, where children become the ‘people’ whose help is needed to solve a problem. […]
This message was written on 24th March 2019 – reposted here 30th March Kia ora colleaguesMy thoughts are with you all as you scramble to sort through the realities of our country moving into lockdown. I hope you’re doing OK in these stressful days.I just need to let you know that given the situation with […]
Thanks to Pauline and staff at St Theresa’s for hosting our February cluster meeting. We had a good turnout of teachers who explored ideas for introducing drama for learning to Maths, History and Health activities. Some fascinating conversations, including which role conventions we might use when depicting significant figures from history. As promised, I’ll do […]
This is still one of the most useful resources anyone ever gave me! It’s from Allana Taylor’s workshop at the 2009 Weaving our Stories Conference, and it’s a version of Heathcote’s 33 role conventions. Heathcote’s list is well known. Simply put, it helps teachers see some of the many different ways we can put ourselves and our […]
Here’s a story I only just spotted from the GUARDIAN in 2013. Great advocacy from a teacher in the UK who discovered Mantle of the Expert (which she calls Imaginative Inquiry) and now uses it regularly in her junior classroom. I particularly like how Jenny links Mantle of the Expert to Philosophy for children and […]
Oops – sorry for the late notice. This one crept up on me. A reminder for those in Wellington that our next cluster meeting will be Tuesday 11th Feb 3.30pm onwards at St Theresa’s School in Plimmerton. These gatherings are always so worthwhile… a low key opportunity to meet up with likeminded folks from the […]
Frame distancing is a very helpful concept to understand when working with drama, particularly if the content area to be explored is tricky or sensitive in some way. Frame distance provides a way of thinking about the different functions or points of view of roles and how these can provide ‘distance’ or ‘proximity’ to an […]
You may have seen a recent post advertising Tim Taylor’s workshop tour in July – August 2020. In conjunction with this, we are also offering a three day Winter School. This is designed for more experienced Mantle of the Expert practitioners, especially those in leadership roles in schools. Enrolment is by invitation with limited places […]