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!
Tim Taylor’s planning for Florence Nightingale Mantle
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.
Winter school
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:
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!
Cluster group and Winter school
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
20 Mantle planning ideas
Check out these neat – and very diverse – Mantle of the Expert planning ideas. They were produced by students from the 2018 Mantle of the Expert summer school and designed for use with participants from early childhood to tertiary level. Many of these plans are being implemented right now in classrooms around Aotearoa!
The table gives only a the ‘bare bones’ of the planning – the full versions included a wide range of other activities and tensions not included here – but we thought this resource may be of interest to colleagues as an illustration of the range of possibilities that can emerge from the same planning process….
Warm thanks to the original authors for allowing me to share these.
PLANNING IDEAS FROM SUMMER SCHOOL 2018
Miguel’s Mantle of the Expert adventures
Miguel Garcia is a beginning teacher based in New Plymouth. He’s embarking on his second Mantle of the Expert this term.
Check out this blog where Miguel and Viv discuss planning and teaching as the adventures unfold with this class. Should be of particular interest to beginners – though more experienced practitioners are also invited to view, comment and offer advice.
Only a handful of posts to read so far, but if you subscribe (see top right corner of blog) you can stay in touch with updates over the final few weeks…
Please note, as yet the blog doesn’t include any photos – these will be added once all the parent’s permission slips are in.
Thanks Miguel for being brave enough to share the ups and downs of this journey!
One participant’s review of the 2018 summer school
Some reflections on the recent Masters summer school from Annette Thomson – thanks Annette!
This report was originally published in the Drama NZ newsletter. For more info on Drama NZ visit www.drama.org.nz
The link to Hundred.org mentioned in the article is here https://hundred.org/en/innovations/mantle-of-the-expert
Article all about the “Mantle Underground”
Some time ago I was invited to write a chapter for a book on University-school partnerships. I had never really thought of our activities as being worthy of academic attention, but I was tickled to be asked and I wrote the chapter – with help from a bunch of other people including Delia Baskerville, Renee Downey, Stephen Hall, Jon Jenner, Robin Kermode, Jodie Moore, Sophie Stevenson, Gaenor Stoate and Carrie Swanson…
After quite a few delays, the book finally came out in October last year. I’ve been given permission to share our chapter on this website… and you’ll find it here . Big thanks to those who helped with comments and input.
P.S. I nearly called the chapter “It’s not what we’re teaching, it’s how we’re teaching!” which was a bit of a catchphrase for the ‘Mantle Underground’ in the early days… but as you’ll see I went with something a bit more conventional in the end. Enjoy!
Check out the updated UK mantle site
Regular visitors to the UK Mantle of the Expert website will have noticed some big changes over the last weekend. After a great deal of work, Tim Taylor, Luke Abbott and the team have launched a whole new-look site. It looks great and sets out all the familiar information – and lots of new stuff – in a much clearer form. Check it out here www.mantleoftheexpert.com
Two further things to mention about the new UK site. First of all, as part of the lead up to the relaunch, Tim asked me to report on the current situation in Mantle of the Expert in Aotearoa for the ‘international’ page of the UK site. I’ve done my best, but I realise I don’t have a complete picture of who is currently using Mantle of the Expert or who is teaching about it. I want to represent everyone so please, if you are a regular user of Mantle of the Expert within Aotearoa or if you are someone who offers workshops or sessions (e.g. as part of a teacher education programme at university or Wānanga or within professional development sessions) do drop me a line with details so I can include them in the summary. You could also add a comment to this post. Second thing to mention is that with the changes to the UK site, some of the links from our NZ site may now have stopped working. I’m working through these and repairing as I can but please if you notice a link that needs fixing, let me know. Cheers!
Writing retreat – updates to prezi and a recommended documentary
Just back from a lovely writing retreat in Taupo with 6 colleagues who previously attended the Mantle summer school. It was a rich time of conversation, reconnection and affirmation of the huge value of our mahi in drama and dramatic inquiry. Not everyone was writing on mantle-related topics but we all found the focus we needed to progress our various writing projects. For my part, I started the planning chapter for book on Mantle I’m writing for NZCER. As part of this I’ve made a few changes to the ‘prezi’ that I know some of you use for pre-planning. Check out the new version here. There’s nothing radically different but I added a new circle for ‘framing / backstory’ and also changed some of the wording here and there, which I hope makes it easier to use. I love how this tool has evolved and changed with the input of lots of people over time. It’s still evolving … so I’d definitely welcome your thoughts on this version.
A very stimulating part of the weekend was the opportunity to re-watch the 2016 documentary HeArt of the Matter. This is a profound and fascinating film about efforts after World War II to introduce ‘thoroughly Arts-rich and bicultural teaching’ in New Zealand. While not specifically related to Mantle of the Expert there is much here to inspire – particularly the advocacy for playful learning, the TIME given to children to create and express through the Arts, the honouring of Maori culture and the evidence of impacts this had on other learning, particularly literacy. Extracts of this documentary can be seen here https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/heart-of-the-matter-2016 along with links to further information. If you get a chance to watch the whole documentary, it’s definitely worth it!
Drama and maths with new entrants
This video from D4LC (Drama for learning and creativity – a UK-based initiative by Patrice Baldwin) shows classroom teacher Terri English using teacher-in-role to teach maths with her class of new entrants.
While not a full-blown mantle, the video provides a really useful illustration of ‘mantle-esque’ aspects of drama (taking a low status role and asking students for help, introducing a fictional context for learning, using tensions and conventions). A great model lesson to try, especially for student teachers and those taking their first steps into using teacher-in-role.
[Just a couple of things to consider: Terri operates in shadow role and pretends she found a letter in the real world – given my recent post about clear signalling, I’d probably advocate being clearer from the start that Chef Jeff is an imagined character. Also, while the other teachers clearly enjoyed donning their chef outfits, it’s not necessary to hire any special costume to teach in role.]Thanks to Terri and Patrice for a great resource… we need more like this!