The National Literacy conference was held last week at Rangi Ruru school in Christchurch with the theme of “Arts as a Bridge to Literacy”. As promised, here’s a PDF of slides from Viv’s keynote address with notes to help make sense of the visuals. There are also links you can click to further information.
Many many thanks to the fabulous teachers of Knighton Normal and Hillcrest Normal Schools in Hamilton who contributed clips for the video used during the presentation.
In term four Auckland Theatre Company’s Mythmakers project is coming to Auckland and Whangarei with an interactive re-telling of the Icarus myth set between contemporary New Zealand and Ancient Greece! Here’s the information about the performance.
AND … Scroll down for your invitation to the free workshop (which is available to attend even if you are not hosting the performance)
Mythmakers introduces theatre to our youngest audiences. Mythmakers shows are short, high-quality plays inspired by the origin stories of Aotearoa, the Pacific and the world. Supported by FREE teacher and student workshops, teachers’ guide and student activity pack.
Written and directed by Benjamin Henson. Monday 21 Oct – Friday 1 Nov (excludes Labour day Monday 28 Oct). Suitable for Primary and Intermediate year levels 4-8
“My favourite part is when Icarus was flying in the high blue sky.” (student review)
Off we go to naughty camp to make us good kids – especially Icky who only wants to fly higher than anyone else, ever. And if he can’t do that, he’ll tell the story of someone who did – the amazing Icarus and his famous father Daedalus, the most notorious inventor in Ancient Greece! But as Icky will learn, even those that aim highest can fall. What will he do when his new-found friends try to take his story all the way to the end? Will Icky’s bad temper keep him locked in a labyrinth forever, or will he learn just like life, every myth has its bad bits? If he can swallow his pride Icky might just take the leap of his life and make it back to camp. Object animation, live music, comedy, and song bring this classic Greek myth alive for children aged 8+
Cost: $3:50 per student, discounts available for deciles 1&2 schools, contact us to find out more.
Suitability: Year Levels 4 – 8
Numbers: Mythmakers shows are designed for intimate audiences of up to 200 (max), seated on the floor. We can be at your school for a day and play multiple performances for smaller audiences if preferable. Contact us to discuss.
Auckland Dates:
Selling fast, limited dates available now.
Northland (Whangarei Dates):
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Tēnā Koutou
This is your invitation to a FREE teachers’ workshop on Auckland Theatre Company’s Mythmakers production of ICARUS by Benjamin Henson on Saturday 19th October, 1pm – 4pm
We’ve prepared a detailed teacher’s guide with ideas for:
The workshop will be your opportunity to meet with other teachers and explore the ideas in the teacher’s guide. In particular we will look at how drama can be used back in the classroom with strategies such as group storytelling, teaching in role and simple drama conventions.
What you’ll learn will not only help you set up successful learning experiences related to ICARUS it’ll also give you access to a whole lot of innovative teaching strategies you can use in your programme in future.
This practical, active session will be faciliated by Dr Viv Aitken. Viv is an experienced facilitator, researcher and education consultant who works in schools all round New Zealand supporting teachers to use drama in inquiry. Viv always ensures a safe, non-threatening environment where everyone takes away new ideas to try. Even if you think drama is ‘not your thing’ – especially if you think so – this workshop is for you!
To enrol, please RSVP by Wednesday 16 October to: Mile Fane: mile@atc.co.nz 09 3090390×274
Numbers are limited, first in first served!
DATE: Saturday 19 August
Time; 1-4pm
VENUE: ATC Studios, Lower Ground Floor, Mt Eden War Memorial Hall, 487 Dominion Road – entrance via the carpark on Brixton Road.
PARKING: Free! Right outside the building.
Afternoon tea provided
Have you heard about the 2019 National Literacy conference in Christchurch? The conference, which is being held Sept 29-Oct 2, has the very inspiring title of “The Arts as a bridge to Literacy” and the programme promises a rich feast of workshops and presentations from across the Arts.
I am privileged enough to be one of the keynote speakers along with Gavin Bishop, Steven Layne, Marcus Akuhata-Brown, Wendy Pye, Mary Chamberlain, Murray Gadd and Mal Keenan. A number of experienced practitioners from the Mantle of the Expert Aotearoa community will be presenting workshops. It looks like being a great event in a beautiful city.
Details of how to register can be found on the conference webpage. Early bird registrations have now been extended until 10th August.
Hope to see you there!
I’m delighted to pass on this invitation from Auckland Theatre Company for a FREE teachers’ workshop on Saturday 10th August. While primarily designed for teachers who are hosting a performance of MAHUIKA! the workshop will also feed those hungry for a bit of PLD on classroom drama. More details below:
Tēnā Koutou
This is your invitation to a FREE teachers’ workshop hosted by Auckland Theatre Company on Saturday 10th August, 1pm – 4pm. The workshop is based around our forthcoming production of MAHUIKA!We want to help teachers and students get the most out of the performance so we’re trying something new … using classroom drama to teach about professional theatre! We’ve produced a teacher’s guide with a whole lot of suggested activities for the classroom including group storytelling, teaching in role and simple drama conventions. The workshop will cover:
The workshop will not only help you set up successful learning experiences related to MAHUIKA!, it’ll also give you access to a whole lot of innovative teaching tools you can use in your programme in future.
The practical, active session will be faciliated by Dr Viv Aitken. Viv is an experienced facilitator, researcher and education consultant who works in schools all round New Zealand supporting teachers to use drama in inquiry. Viv always ensures a safe, non-threatening environment where everyone takes away new ideas to try. Even if you think drama is ‘not your thing’ – especially if you think so – this workshop is for you!
To enrol, please RSVP to Nicole nicole@atc.co.nz by Wednesday 7 August.
Numbers are limited, first in first served!
DATE / TIME : Saturday 10 August 1-4pm
VENUE: ATC Studios, Lower Ground Floor, Mt Eden War Memorial Hall, 487 Dominion Road – entrance via the carpark on Brixton Road.
PARKING: Free! Right outside the building.
Afternoon tea provided
On Monday 15th April, Renee Downey and Viv Aitken had the pleasure of presenting a workshop at the primary teacher’s conference in Wellington. We began by offering a taste of a Mantle of the Expert experience. And to keep things simple, we chose the first Mantle of the Expert Renee ever taught, four years ago, with her year 3-4 class.
Teachers were quickly engaged by the hook. They willingly engaged in activities using drama conventions to explore moments from the imagined world. And before long they were firing out questions that could lead to authentic inquiry across the curriculum: “How far is it to Brazil?” “What would the dangers be of heading into the rainforest?” “How would we get there?” “What do they want us to do with the animals we rescue?”
Of course we could only skim the surface of the complexities of the approach in a short workshop like this, but participants were very positive. We’ve had several follow up inquiries and new enrolments on the site. Welcome aboard!
For slides from the presentation, including full size images of Renee’s planning. Please check out this link.
Here’s a heads up about some events coming up in 2019 that will be of interest to folk with a passion for dramatic inquiry.
First, the Drama New Zealand conference, which is being held in Christchurch from 12th – 14th April. Website for registration is here schedule is here with information about the workshops and presenters here. This conference always offers a good range of workshops suitable for primary generalist teachers with an interest in drama through to secondary specialists, which is a good reason to check it out. Another is that it is always one of the friendliest conferences whether you are reconnecting with friends or attending for the first time. This year I have the honour of presenting a keynote address as well as co-presenting a workshop and a paper on some recent research with colleague Renee Downey. It would be great to see you if you can make it.
Right after Drama New Zealand’s conference, comes the Primary Teacher’s conference, which is being held in Wellington from 15th-18th April.
As I understand it, the Primary school’s teacher’s conference is a new initiative and it’s obviously caused quite a buzz, with over 65 workshops from teachers and experts across a range of fields. The theme of the conference is “Integrated learning and collaborative teaching in the 21st Century”. There’s a pleasing number of sessions related to drama education / dramatic inquiry or related topics that will feed you if creativity, collaboration and integration is your thing. I’m looking forward to presenting at this one, once again with Renee.
And a little later in the year, we have a three day TRCC offering, which is to be held 2-4 October at Kelburn Normal School, Wellington. Enrolments for this one close on 30th August, so best to get in now. The course, which is running in association with Drama New Zealand, will offer workshops in story telling, process drama, drama with early years, working with picture books, mime movement and singing and play making. I’m delighted to have been asked to lead one of the workshops alongside some of my most esteemed colleagues from around Australasia. It will be very exciting and I’m looking forward to it greatly. For more information and to register, check out the flier below. Link to website for more info is here
Here’s something I’ve been working on for some time with input from teachers and colleagues in NZ and beyond. It’s a work in progress that I’m updating and improving as more people contribute their ideas … I’d love to get your thoughts, suggestions and refinements and I can add your name to the long list of acknowledgements…!
The document is an attempt to offer answers to some of the most common questions asked by people who want to understand Mantle of the Expert, especially those wanting to use it across the whole school: “What does it look like in my context?” “How does it relate to other drama in education approaches?” and “What’s the fit with development?”
There’s a diagram on the first page, then a sort of table with definitions and examples. Not perfect, but so far people seem to be finding it pretty useful. Check it out at the link below, and let me know what you think.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IeRV70QkbKihnIu27FM2-QQ7lZE_R5UT/view?usp=sharing
Here is the powerful Mantle of the Expert plan Tim Taylor introduced us to at winter school in July 2018. Thanks so much Tim for writing up the notes and your generosity in making them available for all.
The planning is based on the work of Florence Nightingale and her team of nurses at Scutari during the Crimean war. As well as being a good introduction to this piece of European history, it also touches on universal human themes of standing up to authority, the experience of being away from home and the roles played by medical personnel in conflict.
Originally taught with young children (approx year 2) the planning would work equally with older age groups … I can personally attest to this having spent two days exploring the context and becoming fully invested – along with all the other adults in the room!
Planning notes Powerpoint slides
Tim’s planning has inspired me to make a collection of process drama / Mantle of the Expert plans based on New Zealand historical events. If you have done some planning on local history and are happy to share – or can recommend some good resources, please let me know and I will share in my next post.
The first ever winter school (designed for teachers in Aotearoa with some experience in Mantle of the Expert) was held in Hamilton on 9th-10th July. It was well attended and very well received. Twenty-four teachers from all over the country spent two days with Tim Taylor, whose name will be familiar as the author of the “Beginner’s guide to Mantle of the Expert” and convenor of the Mantle of the Expert UK website. Tim guided us through the first five steps of a Mantle of the Expert experience he’s developed based on the life of Florence Nightingale. It was really engaging – both in terms of the subject matter, which came to life in really meaningful ways – and in terms of deepening our understandings of the nuances of teaching in Mantle of the Expert.
As one of the participants said:
The artistry behind what Tim did / does is incredible and I valued so much the opportunity to discuss and share ideas.
His way of thinking, seemed so obvious once he’d said it, the process and opportunities for learning seemed so simple but the knowledge and understanding that sat behind how Tim got there was absolutely mind blowing. Definitely aspirational and inspirational.
Amongst other taonga shared at the workshop was this tool Tim and Brian’s sequencing tool, developed by Tim and prof Brian Edmiston. It’s a really useful way of thinking about sequencing as it gives seven possible ways to start – or move from task to task within a Mantle of the Expert experience.
Tim has promised to share his planning notes with us once these are written up. In the mean time, other examples of his very skilful planning can be found on the UK website.
Thanks Tim for a great workshop. Travel safely home and we look forward to welcoming you back again in future!
Here’s some information about two professional development opportunities coming up in the Waikato & Bay of Plenty. The first is an informal get together suitable for beginners and those looking for planning ideas and support. The other is a full weekend of professional development for more advanced practitioners, with the amazing Tim Taylor from the UK (author of ‘Beginners Guide to Mantle of the Expert’).
If you’re someone who has been dying to dig deeper into Mantle of the Expert – whether as a beginner or as an experienced teacher looking for that next step in your journey – there is something here for you.
22 May 2018: Bay of Plenty Cluster meeting at Omokoroa Point School, 37 Hamurana Rd, Omokoroa 3114. 3.30pm-5.30pm ish. No charge. Just bring your questions and planning ideas and something to share for afternoon tea. To register attendance or find out more please contact Stephan Hall on shall@omokoroapoint.school.nz
9-10 July 2018: Mantle of the Expert Winter school with Viv Aitken and Tim Taylor to be held at Institute of Professional Development, Waikato University, Hamilton. Limited places available. This workshop will not be advertised to the public and is suitable for teachers and school leaders with some experience in planning and implementing Mantle of the Expert. Cost is $400. More information on the attached flier or contact iplworkshops@waikato.ac.nz. Enrolment is here http://iplworkshops.ac.nz/workshops/?course_id=5716
