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:

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!