Teaching history to year two students through Mantle of the Expert.
This is a really nice video from the UK showing two teachers using MOTE to engage young children in the story of the life of Nelson (a figure from their local history). This is a great example of how MOTE can help children gain factual knowledge through emotional engagement. Bet NZ teachers can think of ways to adapt this concept to teach in depth about our own local historical figures….
Some of you may recognise the male teacher here – he is the lovely Tim Taylor, who was one of the presenters at our 2009 conference. Check out Tim’s use of teacher in role (as a teacher!) and how he uses older children to help with “assessment”. View video HERE
So great to hear Tim talk about how important it is in this style of teaching to be able to let go of your position of power and let the children follow their own instincts and allow for the different levels of engagement – ie. the boy talking with deep emotional engagement and the girl roaming around the teacher’s desk. The video captures the benefits of the teacher staying in role, engaging a child who might normally not be engaged. I thought the video was a great starting point for considering the different challenges faced by a teacher when working in this way, the balancing act of when to stay in role or not. For myself I find that this style of teaching is full of ‘in-the-moment’ decisions, you are part of an unfolding story and while you know the key points of the story/general plot, the details that emerge are unknown until you are inside the story itself. The teacher has to constantly observe and consider how best to support the children’s lead on the spot. Such dynamic but rewarding teaching when you see the difference you can make to a boy like in the video!