It’s not Mantle of the Expert, but I think teachers using the system will appreciate and recognise aspects of MOTE in this clip from America… Children in high status positions, credited with the intelligence and aptitude to address the real issues facing the world. Watch this teacher in action – his positioning of the children and his embracing of their ability to solve complex problems, is a delight.
This week’s University of Waikato Colloquium (Friday 1st June) may be of interest.
Viv is presenting on research methods developed during research in classrooms using Mantle of the Expert. In particular, the presentation looks at the use of researcher-in-role….(a bit like teacher in role, but for the purposes of gathering data!)
Details are shown on the screen shot below – or go to university website for more…
All welcome.
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Thanks to Gaenor Stoate for drawing this article to our attention. It will be of particular interest to secondary English and drama teachers. A lovely account of MOTE used to engage and empower unwilling students at a more senior level.
Check out the student’s incredibly insightful comments on why they prefer working in role…
Check out also the creative ideas for letting them do their exams in role…
Most of all, check out what these teachers managed to achieve with a bunch of students who (according to their own teachers) were ‘thugs’ and would never ‘get it’.
Received this email from Alex at Puketaha school today… Watch out for MOTE on TV!
Just to let you know that a kid’s show called Mishmash came into Puketaha and filmed our class starting a MOTE last week. It screens this Thursday (10th May) on Freeview channel 30 at 7.30am, 9.30am and 2pm if you want to watch. Not sure how it will look as they had to cut 1 hour 30 mins down to 12 mins.
Spent a fulfilling day this week with a small group of university students exploring a NZ issue – in this case Kahikatea deforestation – through Mantle of the Expert.
The objective was to set up opportunities for solo work and collaboration in the Visual Arts, using drama as a pedagogy – and based around a social issue of strong local resonance
First, we explored an old photograph showing men digging a huge muddy ditch. We explored the thoughts and feelings of these men at these moment in their lives. Students were asked to remember this image and consider, as the day went on, what it might have to do with our ‘company’.
Then, students were enrolled as “Arts on the Street” – public Art makers. Their particular speciality – large scale public representations of local history. Through drama, we discovered that past successes of the company included a painted mural in the town of Russell, depicting the social history of the place (we knew we must have done a good job because we received a letter from the rate payers organisation thanking us for our attention to detail and our historical accuracy). We also recreated the moment that the mural was unveiled, and heard the various reactions.
Once we had built belief in our company (a bit of a rush job, as this was a ‘mini mantle’ only), we received the commission: Hamilton Civic Arts Trust were inviting us to enter a video for a new project….
Hamilton city has a well known and very ugly grey concrete wall in the city centre known as ‘wintec wall’. The commission described how this wall was to become a screen for projected art videos. We were asked to create a 30 second video exploring the history of Kahikatea forests in Hamilton.
Next it was off in the cars to check out the wall, take measurements and consider the best use of our video.We also visited a Kahikatea forest fragment (Claudeland’s bush). First, students collected images and samples and got to know the look and feel of the forest. Then they were invited to sit down on the edge of the forest as they were going to meet someone closely associated with these trees. I put on a mask and stood, simply doing a ‘wiri’ with my hands. From this, the students inferred that I was playing the role of Kaitiaki (or spiritual guardian) of the trees.
The students thought about what questions they might have for the Kaitiaki. I didn’t feel it was appropriate for me to speak ‘as’ Kaitiaki. Instead I used Trevor Sharp’s very nifty convention from his ‘Huia Beak’ drama. I distributed pieces of paper containing fragments of historical information – then I asked the questions to the Kaitiaki (now represented simply by the mask lying on the ground). The students then spoke the answers, drawing on the information in front of them. We discovered how this 800 acre forest had been reduced to a tiny remnant the wetlands drained and how the 300 year old trees were struggling to cope. At this point, students made the connection with the photograph we had seen at the start. We even located the actual drainage ditch at the site. The stories of the settlers working hard to make the land productive, were placed alongside the story of destruction and loss as told by the Kaitiaki.
Armed with this information, we travelled back to the campus and began working on some ideas for the video. The commission required simple power point and luckily we were able to get some ‘professional development’ (aka straight skills teaching) from Donn, one of our Arts lecturers. Working in collage, the team came up with some abstract responses to what they had seen, heard and gathered.
Students have taken materials home to continue their work on the commission….
Not a full Mantle, but satisfying as a way to spark interest and commitment in a shared project. Nice, too, to link with Arts making as I more often find myself involved with science, technology and suchlike.
Attaching the plan for this mini mantle if anyone is interested. Feel free to use however you see fit, but please acknowledge the original author. (NB the plan is formatted for A3 – thanks Nat for the template!)
On 18th April the secondary cluster group held their regular skype discussion. Our small group really got its teeth into some ‘meaty’ discussion of power and the different forms it can take in a classroom.
Our discussions were based around the following article written by Brian Edmiston. The article is taken from the UK Mantle of the Expert website – WELL worth a look for any teacher.
The key points from Edmiston’s article are summarized in the other document attached here – a handout from Luke Abbott (thanks Luke!). We decided to take the questions from this handout as a starting point for thinking about our own practice… a great challenge!
To learn more about the Secondary cluster group, contact viv or leave a comment below.
Waikato cluster group members are holding an information evening this coming Thursday 15th March at 5.30pm at Educational Leadership Centre, Faculty of Education. This event has been organised in association with the Centre for Continuing education at the University of Waikato.
The session will be hosted by teachers who are using the approach with success in their classrooms. It is designed to appeal to teachers, parents and anyone else in the community with an interest in educational innovation.
Attached is a flyer produced by the Centre for Continuing education, with enrolment information.
Two MOTE cluster meetings were held within two days in February!
The secondary skype group held a very successful chat (despite some mild technical issues) in which ideas were shared about MOTE and NCEA assessment. We were pleased to welcome some newcomers to that conversation, with participants ranging from the far North to Wellington. The next secondary skype discussion will be held Tuesday 17th April at 7pm
The other meeting as held at St Thomas More school in Mt Maunganui. This one was attended by teachers and student teachers from Bay of Plenty Primary schools and hosted by Elicia Pirini. We shared experiences of teacher in role and discussed ways of working in MOTE to successfully build belief in the company. Thanks Elicia, for writing up your notes and reflections on this event. A brief extract is shown below – full notes can be found within the teacher’s discussion forum.
Establishing the company takes time, it needs to ripen slowly and the student’s role and identity within the company needs to be deliberately grown. I liken it to a marae when there is a major event being held. Many roles need to be fulfilled; these roles often come from a historical reputation and traditional protocols that have been handed down from previous generations. People have been groomed into a particular role. There is an air of expectation that all roles must be fulfilled so that the marae has a high reputation of manaakitanga. (hosting and looking after others). All roles are considered vital for the common good of those involved in and with the marae. There is an understanding of belonging and contributing that occurs when roles and purpose transform to a culture/a way of being.
The next meeting of the Tauranga cluster group will take place on the Wednesday 2nd May at 5pm at St Thomas More
For more information about these cluster groups, please contact Viv or Elicia or place a comment on this message.
Thanks to Cordelia Huxtable for permission to reproduce her dissertation on Mantle of the Expert written in 2009.
In this dissertation, Huxtable makes the case for the strong links between MOTE and the Key competencies.
A good read, which firmly places MOTE in the NZ context.
2012 is off to a flying start. A number of teachers at primary and secondary are plotting great things in their classrooms for term 1 or term 2. The summer school paper in Tauranga is going really well, and a bunch of new teachers is coming through all enthused and ready to try the approach.
We have already held a small skype call for secondary teachers around the country in which we discussed some planning ideas. This group meets again (over skype) on Weds 22nd Feb at 7pm. Meantime, the conversations continue via the MOODLE discussion forum on the website. Check out this link for more.
If you are a secondary teacher and would like to join this group, please let Viv know.
The next face to face cluster meeting in Waikato will be Tuesday 7th Feb at 5pm at The Education Leadership centre, downstairs at the rear of the Faculty of Education building, University of Waikato. All are welcome.
The suggestion is that we look at different ways to establish and build belief in a MOTE company / enterprise. Some new ideas have come through teachers’ work recently which would be great to share. Please bring your ideas / questions about this crucial stage of planning for a MOTE. Please also bring a plate of food to share.
The other focus for the gathering will be planning for our open evening, coming up in March.