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 are in lockdown. Schools are closed and we’re home in our ‘bubbles’. Our communities are responding to the challenges of carrying on – if you’re an ‘essential worker’ – and staying home if you’re not.
Perhaps the most mind-blowing thing in all this, other than the ever-present concerns over health, is the slowly-dawning realisation that this is not temporary: even when the state of emergency is lifted, effects will remain. Economically, socially, personally, nothing will be ‘the same’ again – in life or in education. That’s a huge thing to grapple with.
What does all this mean for teaching and teachers? Well, in the short term we know that schools will remain closed for some time to come. We’re hearing a lot about how we need to ‘take teaching online’ (from early years to tertiary) by 12th April. The Ministry is devoting all PLD funding to this. And already there has been a dizzying amount of activity and energy expended by teachers and others to facilitate this shift. I’ve been blown away by how generous and generative teachers have been – sharing apps, resources, advice about different learning platforms and so on. The sheer quantity of information on offer on social media is amazing. It lifts my heart and I’m sure for classroom teachers, it’s great to have so many tips, resources, videos and other gems. I imagine it must give a very welcome sense of control to have so many possibilities to draw on. At the same time, I suggest, it’s important to take stock, consider and think about what we are doing here, what really matters and what’s really happening. This article from Aisha Ahmad really resonates for me (she’s writing for academics, but the points she makes are just as true for teachers, business owners, parents, all of us!)
First of all, let’s remember what children – and teachers – need right now. We’re in a state of crisis. First they – we – need a chance to process and cope: to have physiological, social, and emotional needs met, as Maslow would put it. So this is where teaching must begin. This link from Sally Hart gives some practical ideas for teaching activities focussed on building hauora and wellbeing. It’s not ‘cheating’ or ‘stalling’ to focus on these right now – it’s the only possible starting point. And remember, the NZC emphasises key competencies, relationship and wellbeing so it’s still ‘curriculum-based learning’ if we encourage our students to undertake tasks that build and practice these things. Until the foundations of wellbeing are in place, no cognitive learning will be effective anyway.
Secondly, let’s not rush! I’ve had a bit of experience in getting to grips with online teaching and learning, including transitioning a degree from face to face to blended delivery: the process was time-consuming and challenging even without a national crisis to navigate at the same time. The main thing I learned was how different teaching online is, and how it takes time to learn to do it well (at least four years in my case). Let’s not diminish the specialism of this kind of teaching by assuming we can do a great job of it in 14 days. And let’s remember that the future we are heading into is unknown. This is about entering a responsive mode in which we adapt to a constantly-changing scenario, not flipping a switch into a new mode of ‘delivery’.
Thirdly, let’s ask ourselves what we mean by teaching online. In my view, the phrase is a bit of a misnomer. What most of us are doing, certainly in the next few months, is setting up for ‘home learning’ for children who are in various stages of lockdown during a national state of emergency and a global crisis. Our job is not to come up with magnificent new online courses. Our job is to set up opportunities for children to learn in their homes. Some of the learning may happen online (watching video clips, reading, feeding back responses, sharing ideas with peers etc) but an awful lot will happen offline (exploring spaces in around the home, drawing, writing by hand, building things, carrying out experiments, taking on roles, mulling over ideas, reading, making sounds, moving the body, debating and dialoguing with family members, and so on). Instead of ‘online teaching’ can we focus on the idea of ‘supporting home learning’ through digital means?
Fourthly, let’s not compromise on the things we really value in teaching and learning. If, like me, you’re passionate about authentic learning, embodied and active strategies, using quality questioning, taking time for reflection, exploring shifts in power and status, making learning fun and engaging then let’s keep these things in mind as the criteria for quality in the learning opportunities we are setting up now. We may need to rethink some of our ways of working and create some new resources, but let’s not lose sight of our kaupapa.
And finally, let’s not assume that drama-based teaching is impossible in the current environment. Sure, drama is all about ‘bodies in a room’ and live, real-world interaction. But it’s also about opening IMAGINED WORLDS (not the same as virtual worlds), shifting power, taking on roles, exploring story, solving problems and working with others. I’d suggest that many of the things we do in dramatic inquiry (not all – but many) can be achieved in home learning too. Check out this resource created by Tim Taylor in the UK, which shows how this can be done. There are already teachers here in New Zealand exploring how resources like these can be developed around local contexts.
What do you think? Can we find ways to support our children to continue learning through dramatic inquiry as part of home learning? I look forward to continuing this conversation over the weeks and months to come.
Kia Kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui
Thinking of you all – Viv x
DNZ Workshops – on zoom
Coming up VERY SOON, Drama New Zealand is offering two FREE workshops for primary and intermediate teachers looking at dramatic inquiry for home learning / distance learning. These will be held over ZOOM and facilitated by Viv Aitken and Renee Downey. Further information below (including full flier and facilitator biographies)
There has already been a lot of interest in these workshops, and they are almost full, so please contact Drama NZ to register your interest (links are shown below). Depending on demand, we may repeat the workshops again in the near future.
Teaching for home learning in a global crisis
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 are in lockdown. Schools are closed and we’re home in our ‘bubbles’. Our communities are responding to the challenges of carrying on – if you’re an ‘essential worker’ – and staying home if you’re not.
Perhaps the most mind-blowing thing in all this, other than the ever-present concerns over health, is the slowly-dawning realisation that this is not temporary: even when the state of emergency is lifted, effects will remain. Economically, socially, personally, nothing will be ‘the same’ again – in life or in education. That’s a huge thing to grapple with.
What does all this mean for teaching and teachers? Well, in the short term we know that schools will remain closed for some time to come. We’re hearing a lot about how we need to ‘take teaching online’ (from early years to tertiary) by 12th April. The Ministry is devoting all PLD funding to this. And already there has been a dizzying amount of activity and energy expended by teachers and others to facilitate this shift. I’ve been blown away by how generous and generative teachers have been – sharing apps, resources, advice about different learning platforms and so on. The sheer quantity of information on offer on social media is amazing. It lifts my heart and I’m sure for classroom teachers, it’s great to have so many tips, resources, videos and other gems. I imagine it must give a very welcome sense of control to have so many possibilities to draw on. At the same time, I suggest, it’s important to take stock, consider and think about what we are doing here, what really matters and what’s really happening. This article from Aisha Ahmad really resonates for me (she’s writing for academics, but the points she makes are just as true for teachers, business owners, parents, all of us!)
First of all, let’s remember what children – and teachers – need right now. We’re in a state of crisis. First they – we – need a chance to process and cope: to have physiological, social, and emotional needs met, as Maslow would put it. So this is where teaching must begin. This link from Sally Hart gives some practical ideas for teaching activities focussed on building hauora and wellbeing. It’s not ‘cheating’ or ‘stalling’ to focus on these right now – it’s the only possible starting point. And remember, the NZC emphasises key competencies, relationship and wellbeing so it’s still ‘curriculum-based learning’ if we encourage our students to undertake tasks that build and practice these things. Until the foundations of wellbeing are in place, no cognitive learning will be effective anyway.
Secondly, let’s not rush! I’ve had a bit of experience in getting to grips with online teaching and learning, including transitioning a degree from face to face to blended delivery: the process was time-consuming and challenging even without a national crisis to navigate at the same time. The main thing I learned was how different teaching online is, and how it takes time to learn to do it well (at least four years in my case). Let’s not diminish the specialism of this kind of teaching by assuming we can do a great job of it in 14 days. And let’s remember that the future we are heading into is unknown. This is about entering a responsive mode in which we adapt to a constantly-changing scenario, not flipping a switch into a new mode of ‘delivery’.
Thirdly, let’s ask ourselves what we mean by teaching online. In my view, the phrase is a bit of a misnomer. What most of us are doing, certainly in the next few months, is setting up for ‘home learning’ for children who are in various stages of lockdown during a national state of emergency and a global crisis. Our job is not to come up with magnificent new online courses. Our job is to set up opportunities for children to learn in their homes. Some of the learning may happen online (watching video clips, reading, feeding back responses, sharing ideas with peers etc) but an awful lot will happen offline (exploring spaces in around the home, drawing, writing by hand, building things, carrying out experiments, taking on roles, mulling over ideas, reading, making sounds, moving the body, debating and dialoguing with family members, and so on). Instead of ‘online teaching’ can we focus on the idea of ‘supporting home learning’ through digital means?
Fourthly, let’s not compromise on the things we really value in teaching and learning. If, like me, you’re passionate about authentic learning, embodied and active strategies, using quality questioning, taking time for reflection, exploring shifts in power and status, making learning fun and engaging then let’s keep these things in mind as the criteria for quality in the learning opportunities we are setting up now. We may need to rethink some of our ways of working and create some new resources, but let’s not lose sight of our kaupapa.
And finally, let’s not assume that drama-based teaching is impossible in the current environment. Sure, drama is all about ‘bodies in a room’ and live, real-world interaction. But it’s also about opening IMAGINED WORLDS (not the same as virtual worlds), shifting power, taking on roles, exploring story, solving problems and working with others. I’d suggest that many of the things we do in dramatic inquiry (not all – but many) can be achieved in home learning too. Check out this resource created by Tim Taylor in the UK, which shows how this can be done. There are already teachers here in New Zealand exploring how resources like these can be developed around local contexts.
What do you think? Can we find ways to support our children to continue learning through dramatic inquiry as part of home learning? I look forward to continuing this conversation over the weeks and months to come.
Kia Kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui
Thinking of you all – Viv x
Dramatic Inquiry Trust
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 teachers in Aotearoa can learn about Dramatic Inquiry (which includes Mantle of the Expert, process drama, drama for learning and dramatic play).
The hui began with an opening session on cultural responsiveness facilitated by the wonderful Rawiri Hindle. For the rest of the weekend, we established some goals and agreed first steps to achieving them. While covid-19 has intervened and put things on hold for a while, the passion is there – the waka is launched – and there’s no doubt this work will continue when the time is right.
The Trust is committed to working from a culturally responsive foundation and already this is leading to some significant and exciting ways of organising ourselves and conceptualising what we do. It’s very exciting!
More details about the goals of the Trust, and future offerings including courses, resources and workshops, will be shared in due course. If you are interested in contributing in some way to the work of the Trust, please get in touch.
Many thanks to all those who committed their time, energy and resources to make this hui possible – you’re incredible. There are so many individuals around Aotearoa who contribute so generously to leading Dramatic Inquiry in their schools and regions; supporting colleagues and sharing their passion. It’s fabulous to know that there will be a sustainable network to support this mahi in future.
Exploremore: Mantle of the Expert-inspired story adventures online
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,
Tim and co have used simple technology (a slide show and a Padlet) to allow an adult to guide a child, or children through a story adventure. The adult can be involved if they want, but there are large sections where the child can work, create and play independently. Instructions allow participants to have spaces where they make decisions and are in charge of the story, as well as activities where they practice skills and learn across the curriculum.
What I love about this is that it is an online resource that still retains so much of the magic of Mantle of the Expert: there’s artistry; there’s powerful questioning; there’s expert repositioning of children; there’s inquiry; there’s authentic cross curricula learning; there’s adventure; there’s fun; there’s creativity and individuality; there’s embodiment; there’s empathy and critical thinking. At the same time, there’s a sense of escaping into a story, which is just what our children need right now. As one of the parents said on twitter: ‘when the real world is broken, here’s a safe place to go!’
If you visit the exploremore now, you’ll see the first story Troll Hunters is up and available for use free of charge. This is one for younger children. And at the bottom of the page you’ll see examples of some of the awesome things children have been creating and writing. More stories to follow in future for a subscription.
I hope you’ll make good use of the exploremore site. And if, like me, you are inspired to think about planning something of this sort based on a New Zealand context or story, please get in touch. Perhaps we could make something together!?
Tim Taylor’s tour cancelled
This message was written on 24th March 2019 – reposted here 30th March
Kia ora colleagues
My 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 Covid-19 and the uncertainties of the months ahead, Tim Taylor’s tour which was planned for July – August of this year is cancelled.
Huge thanks to the host schools, the team involved in organising and to everyone who had enrolled so far. We had a really good response: even with four months to go and minimal promotion, the winter school and two of the workshops were fully subscribed. Tu meke!
Those who had already paid you will of course receive a full refund of your enrolment fee. It may take some time to process these, so your patience is appreciated.
None of us know what the world will look like the other side of this difficult time, but be assured we are determined to host Tim in future and conversations are already underway for creating some kind of digital offering in July. I’ll be in touch with more information as that clarifies.
Thank you for your passion for what matters in teaching. We will all hold fast to that as we work out what education looks like through this pandemic, and beyond.
All the very best. Stay well and don’t hesitate to contact me if I can support you in any way.
Kia kaha
Viv Aitken
Wellington Cluster meeting
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 a separate post on role conventions shortly.
Next Wellington cluster meeting will be at Island Bay School on Wednesday 27th May. Save the date and I’ll send a reminder and more information nearer the time.
Role conventions – in colour
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 participants into role during a classroom drama experience (the list is not exhaustive – for example it doesn’t include digital possibilities for evoking roles – but it’s an amazing start)
What’s special about this handout is that Allana has colour coded the conventions in line with Jerome Bruner’s theory that learning occurs through ICONIC, SYMBOLIC & ENACTIVE / EXPRESSIVE forms of representation. The colour coding puts the different roles into these three categories. The green ones are ENACTIVE (physical representations made through the body). The red ones are where the role is ICONIC (evoked through artefacts, symbols, images or drawings). The blue ones are SYMBOLIC (where writing or other forms of language are used). Bearing these different categories in mind can really help the teacher choose what kind of learning experience to offer – and how to move between all three during different episodes.
When planning to teach in role, or put participants in role, it’s well worth having an explore through this list to see which role convention feels right for your purpose. As a rule of thumb, the more abstract the convention, the more distance it provides. So, if we are wanting to engage with something important, such as an atua, or a real figure from history, we are more likely to choose an abstract role convention (red or blue) for this.
Thanks Allana, for a wonderful tool that has stood the test of time
Allana Taylor, Weaving our Stories conference, 2009
Imaginative inquiry has transformed my job
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 dialogic pedagogy. The story was written by Emily Drabble and first published Sun 7 Jul 2013 07.00 BST Click here for link to the original story.
After drifting through her first few years of teaching, Jenny Lewis was put on an inspiring professional development programme that sparked a passion for creative approaches to learning
Both my parents were teachers and they advised me not to go into teaching. I did a degree in English literature at Goldsmiths University then worked for a few years in shops and offices. I didn’t really have a clue what I was doing. Then I decided to do a PGCE at Goldsmiths, not because I had any burning ambition – just because I wanted a career. I worked in two inner city schools in London, first South Haringay Infants school then Allen Edwards primary school. I loved the kids and the challenge and of course teaching is always more than a job, but I didn’t have a clear vision about what learning should be about or what I believed teaching was.
I moved to Oxford and got a job in another inner city multicultural school called East Oxford First school. It was here I started finding myself as a teacher. I had a fantastic head and we had challenging children from complex social circumstances. We had to work so closely with families as many of them were refugees and travellers – and we needed to create a really nurturing environment and our biggest drive was to help children be receptive to learning even with such complicated home lives. I became part of the leadership team and I started to get more emotionally involved with teaching.
But it was when I moved to Norwich that everything really started to change for me. I started teaching at Avenue First School which is now part of Recreation Road primary. Our head Serena Dixon is incredible and she’s changed my life in so many ways. She finds and nurtures talent in people and I can’t overstate the massive impact she has had on me as a person and a teacher. It was really at this point that I began to learn a lot more about pedagogy, about how children learn and think, rather than just delivering the curriculum.
At that time Norfolk Education Authority had this incredible programme: Thinking Schools, Thinking Children. Serena Dixon was really keen to get involved and it was the start of a really inspirational few years that Norfolk schools are still benefitting from today.
The real revelations were using philosophy and drama for learning. We got to hear amazing inspirational speakers including Barry Hymer and Sir John Jones – speakers who have had a real impact on education and made me think about what learning is about. So suddenly all this opened up to me.
The best thing about the programme for me was that it was based on action research so we would go back and try things out in our classes, it was a really reflective process.
We found that using philosophy for children (P4C) and creating a dialogic classroom was right for our school. Robin Alexander from Cambridge University taught me so much about using talk in the classroom and creating a real co-constructed learning environment – so instead of a teacher imparting knowledge by asking questions it’s more about being a facilitator in the classroom and getting high-level dialogue and a higher-order of conversation.
Then in 2004 I went to hear a speaker called Luke Abbott talk about imaginative inquiry. I was completely intrigued by what he had to say about the Mantle of the Expert (MoE) pedagogy, a drama-based learning where the children learn in an imaginary world in role. That was the day that my teaching life took an incredible turn.
It seemed such an exciting way for me to move forward as a practitioner so I was thrilled to become part of a project that trained me in the use of MoE. Since then I have worked with a group of colleagues who have become a committed and transforming support group and who are still helping me to refine and improve my practice and understanding of the approach.
I have run a series of long term MoE contexts with my classes, while developing imaginative-inquiry as a pedagogic approach that we use throughout the school.
My current year 2 children are a group of curators creating a museum about a workhouse. We have co-created the story of the Baxter family who entered the workhouse in 1835. As museum creators in 2013 we examine these fictional historical documents to piece together information. We co-create the whole world and the class’ job to go in and turn the classroom into a museum. They partly work in the present and partly in the 19th century in a process (rather than a performance) drama.
We spend around half our time in school fully in role. It’s a very deep way of working. You can cover most of the curriculum within the imaginary world.
The children absolutely love it and speaking and listening skills go through the roof. Because the world is co-created and the pupils lead the story they have a huge ownership of it. They have so many ideas and have a really big say over their learning. Children come in with ideas and as a teacher you weave them into the drama. When you start there’s a lot of learn, it’s a complex pedagogy.
Now we use MoE across the school, as well as the forest school approach and P4C. There is nothing fluffy about it. We are an Ofsted outstanding school. Our data holds up, we have strong academic achievement.
Working like this takes a lot of time, you aren’t dusting down old plans, you’re being constantly creative. But it’s such a lot of fun. I compare it to being in an amazing film. We all become very emotional at this time of year when the film is about to end, it’s really hard to say goodbye to these year long projects.
Thanks to Jenny for sharing these Fictional historical documents which are part of her year 2 class’s MoE co-created story of the Baxter family who entered the workhouse in 1835.
Jenny Lewis teachers at Recreation Road Infant school in Norwich. Jenny is also involved in training and supporting other teachers in Norfolk and beyond.
Topics
Cluster meeting Wellington 11th Feb
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 region, to share what we’ve been trying in classrooms and get informal PLD. All welcome.
Here are directions. St Theresa’s School, 1 James Street, Plimmerton. From Wellington pass St Theresa’s Church and take the 3rd exit at the roundabout. From North, turn left at Plimmerton roundabout just before Palmers Garden Centre.
As always, cluster meetings are free of charge but please email Pauline at the school if you are keen to attend: pauline-maclean@st-theresas.school.nz
Frame distance
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 event or issue.
If you think about it, every role we adopt carries with it an implied viewpoint, a set of interests, an attitude to what takes place. This is true in life and in classroom drama. A soldier fighting in the trenches has a different perspective to the action from that of a commander watching the fighting from the hillside. Different again is the perspective of the soldier’s family waiting for news or a historian looking back at the battle through the distance of time.
The frame distance tool above shows which roles will bring participants closer to the action and which might provide more distance and therefore more safety. Note that the degree of distance does not necessarily imply more or less emotional involvement – closer is not necessarily ‘better’. Indeed, often the more distanced roles provide a sense of safety so that participants can be ‘protected into feeling’ (Bolton). Choosing distanced roles can also be a way of expressing respect for culturally significant subject matter.
The frame distance tool is useful for teachers during planning for Mantle of the Expert, process drama, drama for learning or devising to help them select appropriate roles for participants. The tool can also be used to help select the best perspective for a teacher in role. The tool can also help a teacher plan an activity in which an issue is explored from multiple perspectives with participants invited to take on first one role and then another.
For more on Frame distance, see Bowell and Heap’s excellent book Planning process drama (2002) .
References;