Mantle of the expert

Last updated
Students working in a Mantle of the Expert context as a team of park rangers performing an operation on an injured animal. SBP 6196.jpg
Students working in a Mantle of the Expert context as a team of park rangers performing an operation on an injured animal.

Mantle of the Expert is an education approach that uses imaginary contexts to generate purposeful [1] and engaging [2] activities for learning. Within this fictional framework, students are cast as a team of experts working for a client on a commission. The commission is designed by the teacher to generate tasks and activities that meet the client's requirements and provide opportunities for students to explore various curriculum areas. For instance, a class might be cast as archaeologists excavating an Egyptian tomb for the Cairo Museum. To complete the commission, they would research ancient Egyptian history, covering topics such as tombs, artifacts, and rituals. This approach enables the study of history, geography, art, design, and other subjects, while also developing skills in reading, writing, problem-solving, and inquiry. Mantle of the Expert is intended to be used selectively alongside other teaching methods.

Contents

Development

Dorothy Heathcote developed Mantle of the Expert at Newcastle University during the 1970s and 1980s. Heathcote, an internationally renowned authority [3] on drama for learning, [4] aimed to provide non-drama specialists with an approach that supported the use of drama across the curriculum. [5] She believed drama was underused outside drama studios and could serve as a powerful medium for learning across various subjects.. [6]

Origins

Heathcote said she didn't as much invent Mantle of the Expert as "find herself doing it." [7] In a 1993 interview with Sandra Hesten, she recounted working with a small group of children on a drama context about the Nativity – "…thinking about it later I thought that's really important – they were expert kings. And then it began to dawn on me. People had to have a point of view. So when I reviewed the week I thought – the point of view of inn-keeping, the point of view of soldiers who are working for Rome, the point of view of angels, the point of view of kings. And that's when it started coming together." [8]

This conversation is recorded by Hesten in her PhD thesis and is recounted by Heathcote on at least two further occasions, once in the documentary "Pieces of Dorothy" and in an interview for the Mantle of the Expert website in 2009 - "That was the start, I then started to think, what do I call it? That's when I got this crazy name. Which is extreme not crazy, just fanciful. I can't find a better name." Although Heathcote did not date the 'Nativity' context precisely, it likely occurred in the mid-1970s, around the time she began referring to Mantle of the Expert as a distinct approach in her courses at Newcastle University. [9]

Working with her graduate students at Newcastle University, Heathcote spent much of the late 1970s and 1980s researching, developing, and evaluating Mantle of the Expert in various settings, including primary and secondary schools, special schools, borstals, and adult and child mental hospitals. [10] Her method involved teaching week long sessions, planned in advance with her students, where they played different roles in the classroom. These sessions, often involving improvisation and discussion, were carefully planned and included resources, props, and costumes created by the graduate students. They were experimental in nature, and were analysed, and evaluated by Heathcote and her students, and forming the foundation of the approach. In some cases these 'experiments' were documented. [11]

After retiring in 1987, Heathcote continued to work on Mantle of the Expert and used the approach in various settings worldwide. In 1995, she co-wrote "Drama for Learning: Dorothy Heathcote's Mantle of the Expert Approach to Education" with Gavin Bolton. [12]

Later Developments

Among Heathcote's students in the early 1980s was Luke Abbott, who was then a secondary school drama teacher. After completing his M.A. under Heathcote, Abbott became a Local Authority advisor for Essex County Council. In this role, he used Mantle of the Expert in classrooms to demonstrate its effectiveness with minimal props or resources. His pragmatic approach aimed to make the method easier for teachers to. [13]

In the early 2000s, Abbott organized national and international conferences to promote Mantle of the Expert. With Heathcote as the keynote speaker and classroom teachers running workshops, these conferences aimed to demystify the approach and make it accessible to non-specialist drama teachers.

Method

Using Heathcote's drama conventions, students explore why so many male passengers died during the sinking of the Titanic. SBP 6352.jpg
Using Heathcote's drama conventions, students explore why so many male passengers died during the sinking of the Titanic.

Mantle of the Expert functions [14] by having the teacher design a fictional context where students assume the roles and responsibilities of an expert team. Within this framework, they are commissioned by a client to undertake a project that the teacher has planned. This project generates tasks and activities that facilitate studying and developing a wide range of curriculum areas. [15]

From the outset, students understand they are participating in a fictional scenario. [16] Mantle of the Expert is not a simulation intended to deceive students into believing the context is real. The approach involves students consciously entering and exiting the fiction, akin to imaginative play. They are aware that the fiction is a construct that can be paused and resumed at will. This process allows activities within the fiction to create a purpose for curriculum learning outside of it. For example, the teacher might introduce a task within the fiction, such as writing a report for a museum, and then step out of the story to teach the necessary skills and knowledge to complete the task. Once the task is finished, the fiction resumes, and students see the impact of their work within the fictional context. This cyclical process of entering and exiting the fictional narrative is a defining feature of the Mantle of the Expert approach.. [17]

The 'mantle' in Mantle of the Expert is metaphorical. [18] It does not imply that students possess real-world expertise. Dorothy Heathcote emphasized that students are only experts within the fiction, taking on the roles and responsibilities of the team, but not outside of it. Within the fiction, both teacher and students collaborate as equals, sharing power and authority. Decisions are made collaboratively, reflecting distributed leadership. Outside the fiction, the teacher's authority remains intact. [19]

Creating a fictional context where students can experiment with decision-making, responsibilities, and challenging situations provides a 'safe zone' within the classroom. Unlike the real world, where such experiences are rare for children, the fictional world allows them to explore, discuss, and evaluate these scenarios. [20] Heathcote envisioned her ideal classroom as a laboratory, where students bring in their knowledge and assume the mantle of responsibility. The outcomes of their activities matter to someone beyond themselves, making these settings catalysts for societal change.." [21]

Elements

Tim Taylor in his book, "A Beginner's Guide to Mantle of the Expert" [22] identifies nine elements to the Mantle of the Expert approach. These are:

  1. The creation of a fictional context – planned by the teacher and developed in collaboration with the students. The main functions of the fictional context are to create wider opportunities for curriculum learning; to make curriculum learning meaningful and purposeful; and to engage the students in curriculum study.
  2. The use of a narrative – planned by the teacher and developed in collaboration with the students. The main functions of the narrative are to set up the context for the students; to offer the students a way into the fiction; and to make curriculum activities memorable, understandable, and coherent.
  3. The use of inquiry questions. The main functions of inquiry questions are for students to explore, study, and analyse the curriculum; for students and teachers to work together in a community of learning; and for the teacher to create opportunities for students to assess, rethink, and shape the direction of the work as it develops.
  4. The Expert Team. Planned by the teacher and developed in collaboration with the students. Expert teams are people with authority, power, and status; people with responsibilities and duties to others; a community with agreed values and a defined purpose; colleagues with a shared history of challenges, mistakes, and success; experts with training and experience
  5. The client. Planned by the teacher. The purpose of the client is to generate purposeful activities for the team; create a focus for the team; reflect back to the team how they are performing and what they need to do to improve and develop; assess and evaluate the work of the team, requiring high standards and a focus on the commission; provide information, specialist knowledge, and experiences; make demands of the team.
  6. The commission. Planned by the teacher and developed with the students. The function of the commission is to give purpose to the work of the team and, by extension, to the students' curriculum studies; focus the work and keep it on course; provide a goal for the work, something to strive for; create a sense of responsibility; generate self-worth and a sense of achievement.
  7. Different points view. The purpose of providing the students with different points of view is to look at events from multiple perspectives; provide alternative attitudes, values, and beliefs; generate opportunities for exploring people's motivations; challenge the student's views and orthodox thinking; create opportunities to explore people and events in depth and complexity; experiment with different ways of dealing with challenges and problems.
  8. Tension. Planned by the teacher and developed in collaboration with the students. The purpose of tension is to create excitement and interest; create productive energy, drawing on the students' excitement and commitment to events; generate opportunities to examine people's actions, motivations, and values; build resilience.
  9. Drama conventions. Planned by the teacher and used in collaboration with the students. The purpose of drama conventions is to play with time – hold it, rewind it, jump forward; create opportunities for exploration, examination, discussion, and reflection; investigate people's actions, motivations, and values; give students the power to influence events; create a 'safe zone' that gives students the opportunity to experiment and explore different possibilities and choices.

Related Research Articles

Situated learning is a theory that explains an individual's acquisition of professional skills and includes research on apprenticeship into how legitimate peripheral participation leads to membership in a community of practice. Situated learning "takes as its focus the relationship between learning and the social situation in which it occurs".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Active learning</span> Educational technique

Active learning is "a method of learning in which students are actively or experientially involved in the learning process and where there are different levels of active learning, depending on student involvement." Bonwell & Eison (1991) states that "students participate [in active learning] when they are doing something besides passively listening." According to Hanson and Moser (2003) using active teaching techniques in the classroom can create better academic outcomes for students. Scheyvens, Griffin, Jocoy, Liu, & Bradford (2008) further noted that "by utilizing learning strategies that can include small-group work, role-play and simulations, data collection and analysis, active learning is purported to increase student interest and motivation and to build students ‘critical thinking, problem-solving and social skills". In a report from the Association for the Study of Higher Education, authors discuss a variety of methodologies for promoting active learning. They cite literature that indicates students must do more than just listen in order to learn. They must read, write, discuss, and be engaged in solving problems. This process relates to the three learning domains referred to as knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA). This taxonomy of learning behaviors can be thought of as "the goals of the learning process." In particular, students must engage in such higher-order thinking tasks as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

The Reggio Emilia approach is an educational philosophy and pedagogy focused on preschool and primary education. This approach is a student-centered and constructivist self-guided curriculum that uses self-directed, experiential learning in relationship-driven environments. The programme is based on the principles of respect, responsibility and community through exploration, discovery and play.

Teacher in Role is an educational technique used especially in the teaching of drama and dramatic literature, however its applications can span across the entire subject spectrum. Educators utilising the technique adopt a character or 'role', with the intent of engaging typically younger students in a fictional or historically-inspired setting to convey desired concepts, attitudes and ideals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intercultural learning</span>

Intercultural learning is an area of research, study and application of knowledge about different cultures, their differences and similarities. On the one hand, it includes a theoretical and academic approach. On the other hand, it comprises practical applications such as learning to negotiate with people from different cultures, living with people from different cultures, living in a different culture and the prospect of peace between different cultures.

A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the needs of the students. There may be requirements mandated by the school system regarding the plan. A lesson plan is the teacher's guide for running a particular lesson, and it includes the goal, how the goal will be reached and a way of measuring how well the goal was reached.

Dorothy Heathcote MBE was a British drama teacher and academic who used the method of "teacher in role" as an approach to teaching across the curriculum in schools and later in other settings. She was a highly accomplished teacher of theatre and drama for learning and amongst her many achievements she defined and developed "mantle of the expert" as an approach to teaching. The book she wrote with Gavin Bolton, that explains her Mantle of the expert approach to education, is Drama for Learning (1994). The most significant previous book that explains her approach was written by Betty Jane Wagner and was entitled Dorothy Heathcote: Drama as a Learning Medium.

Process drama is a method of teaching and learning drama where both the students and teacher are working in and out of role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inclusion (education)</span> Where disabled students spend most of their time with non-disabled students

Inclusion in education refers to including all students to equal access to equal opportunities of education and learning, and is distinct from educational equality or educational equity. It arose in the context of special education with an individualized education program or 504 plan, and is built on the notion that it is more effective for students with special needs to have the said mixed experience for them to be more successful in social interactions leading to further success in life. The philosophy behind the implementation of the inclusion model does not prioritize, but still provides for the utilization of special classrooms and special schools for the education of students with disabilities. Inclusive education models are brought into force by educational administrators with the intention of moving away from seclusion models of special education to the fullest extent practical, the idea being that it is to the social benefit of general education students and special education students alike, with the more able students serving as peer models and those less able serving as motivation for general education students to learn empathy.

Cecily O’Neill is an international authority on process drama and the arts in education. She works with students, teachers, playwrights, directors, and actors throughout the world, leading drama workshops, speaking at conferences, and carrying out research. She has been an Associate Artist with the Unicorn Theatre and a visiting lecturer and examiner at several universities in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. She is Resident Dramaturg for New York University's annual series 'Plays for Young Audiences, held at the historic Provincetown Playhouse in Greenwich Village. In 2013, Cecily O'Neill founded 2TimeTheatre, a performance and publishing company.

Inquiry-based learning is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios. It contrasts with traditional education, which generally relies on the teacher presenting facts and their knowledge about the subject. Inquiry-based learning is often assisted by a facilitator rather than a lecturer. Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning includes problem-based learning, and is generally used in small-scale investigations and projects, as well as research. The inquiry-based instruction is principally very closely related to the development and practice of thinking and problem-solving skills.

Emergent curriculum is a philosophy of teaching and a way of planning a children's curriculum that focuses on being responsive to their interests. The goal is to create meaningful learning experiences for the children.

Floyd Grant Robinson was a teacher, education theorist and curriculum developer. He wrote many works on the topics of stimulating complex thinking and the importance of education across the entire lifespan. Robinson is most notable for his work done while at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) between 1965 and 1991.

Phaungdawoo Monastic Education Affiliated High School or Phaung Daw Oo Monastic School is a high school of Theravada Buddhist monastic education located in Aungmyethazan Township, Mandalay, Myanmar.

Learning through play is a term used in education and psychology to describe how a child can learn to make sense of the world around them. Through play children can develop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally, and gain the self-confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments.

Feminist pedagogy is a pedagogical framework grounded in feminist theory. It embraces a set of epistemological theories, teaching strategies, approaches to content, classroom practices, and teacher-student relationships. Feminist pedagogy, along with other kinds of progressive and critical pedagogy, considers knowledge to be socially constructed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamification of learning</span> Educational approach aiming to promote learning by using video game design and game elements

The gamification of learning is an educational approach that seeks to motivate students by using video game design and game elements in learning environments. The goal is to maximize enjoyment and engagement by capturing the interest of learners and inspiring them to continue learning. Gamification, broadly defined, is the process of defining the elements which comprise games, make those games fun, and motivate players to continue playing, then using those same elements in a non-game context to influence behavior. In other words, gamification is the introduction of game elements into a traditionally non-game situation.

In education, authentic learning is an instructional approach that allows students to explore, discuss, and meaningfully construct concepts and relationships in contexts that involve real-world problems and projects that are relevant to the learner. It refers to a "wide variety of educational and instructional techniques focused on connecting what students are taught in school to real-world issues, problems, and applications. The basic idea is that students are more likely to be interested in what they are learning, more motivated to learn new concepts and skills, and better prepared to succeed in college, careers, and adulthood if what they are learning mirrors real-life contexts, equips them with practical and useful skills, and addresses topics that are relevant and applicable to their lives outside of school."

Design-based learning (DBL), also known as design-based instruction, is an inquiry-based form of learning, or pedagogy, that is based on integration of design thinking and the design process into the classroom at the K-12 and post-secondary levels. Design-based learning environments can be found across many disciplines, including those traditionally associated with design, as well as others not normally considered to be design-related. DBL, as well as project-based learning and problem-based learning, is used to teach 21st century skills such as communication and collaboration and foster deeper learning.

Data-driven instruction is an educational approach that relies on information to inform teaching and learning. The idea refers to a method teachers use to improve instruction by looking at the information they have about their students. It takes place within the classroom, compared to data-driven decision making. Data-driven instruction works on two levels. One, it provides teachers the ability to be more responsive to students’ needs, and two, it allows students to be in charge of their own learning. Data-driven instruction can be understood through examination of its history, how it is used in the classroom, its attributes, and examples from teachers using this process.

References

  1. Taylor, T. (2016) A Beginner's Guide to Mantle of the Expert. Singular. p.51.(Due for publication July 2016)
  2. Taylor, T. (2016) p.13.
  3. Wagner, B.J. (1976) Dorothy Heathcote: Drama as a Learning Medium. London: Trentham Books.
  4. Bolton, G. (2003) Dorothy Heathcote's Story: the biography of a remarkable drama teacher. London: Trentham Books, introduction p.x
  5. Bolton (2003) p.126.
  6. Bolton (2003) p.126.
  7. Bolton (2003) p.127.
  8. Hesten, S. (1986) The Heathcote Archive. PhD thesis. p.156.
  9. Hesten, S. (1986).
  10. Bolton (2003) p.125.
  11. Hesten, S. (1986) p. 217.
  12. Heathcote, D. and Bolton, G. (1995) Drama for Learning: Dorothy Heathcote's Mantle of the Expert Approach to Education. Portsmouth: Heinemann.
  13. "Articles". Mantle of the Expert. 25 March 2008.
  14. Taylor, T. (2016) p.25
  15. Taylor, T. (2016)
  16. Taylor, T. (2016) p.13.
  17. Taylor, T. (2016) p.13.
  18. Taylor, T. (2016) p.53.
  19. Taylor, T. (2016) p.166.
  20. Taylor, T. (2016) p.39.
  21. Bolton (2003) p.126.
  22. Taylor, T. (2016).

Bibliography