Guest Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 Hi Guys, I need your help again! Our head has decided that we are going to start using 'the mantle of the expert' as devised by Dorothy Heathcote. Sounds lovely in theory i.e children lead the learning and its all very creative and exciting But, how do you as the teacher plan and ensure that objectives and targets are met??? Also we do WALT WILF and TIBS for each lesson, now, surely if you are being led to a certain extent by the children you may well deviate from these very specific things and how can they fit into this type of creative curriculum. We are also an Edison school so follow their curriculum, is there anyone else out htere who 'does' Edison and does it work for you, or have you adapted it?? Please, please can anyone tell me if they do it or know anyone who does?? How do you do medium plan and lesson plan etc etc Sorry, so many questions I just feel a bit lost at the minute! Jane
JacquieL Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 How does your HT envisage you using Mantle of the Expert? I used Drama as a basis for a lot of my activities with the children and this is something that would be part of the drama struture, not something used in isolation. What age group are you working with? How you use it would depend on the age. It is certainly a very effective tool for learning.
Marion Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 Sorry to be dense but I know WALT and WILF but whats TIBS?
Guest Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 Sorry, TIBs is for 'this is because' so the children can see / understand why they are doing a particular activity. I'm a yr.1 teacher but our HT want this to become a whole schhol approach. Both she and the DH are off to a conference about it and to a 'fantastic' school in Suffolk which has been doing it for about 3 years. This school also charges £100 per person per visit for traini ng materials and lunch at the local pub. Did you receive any specific training Marion and how did you start? Also.... does a 'theme' last for a couple of weeks, a half term or does it vary? Thanks Jane
Susan Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 Ive heard of TIBS, Marion but I cant remember it! I'm not familar with "mantle of the expert" either? Sorry to be unhelpful, Jane, but surely some of those questions should be addressed in school if you are taking on something new? If you have planning formats that work for you now, shouldnt you be able to use them or adapt them? Have you seen Sue R's blog, she is working in what I believe must be a similar way in her Day Nursery?
JacquieL Posted October 14, 2006 Posted October 14, 2006 I used this way of teaching and learning in the Early Years for at least the last 12 years. It is about creating a context for learning so that the chidlrern are deeply involved in deicsion making. I based my M.Ed research on exploring this way of learning in my Reception classroom. It is magical and effective and motivates all the children. As I have said it is a very effective way of teaching and learning and requires that you plan carefully a drama structure to meet the needs of what you hope your children will learn. With FS it can be something very simple. Then you use the structure to 'hand'over' the control to the children. Younger chidlren need more structure and this can be effectiely helped by using a adult in role. The chidlren can become very deeply involved and really do amaze. There are lots of books that you could use among the Dorothy Heathcote's own book on using Mantle of the Expert. If you look on Amazon you will find lots of books on using Drama Structures by people like Gavin Bolton, Jonothan Neelands, Neil Kitson. 'Improve your Primary School through Drama' (David Fulton) would be helpful for the whole school. There is also an article on this site about using Drama and role-play in the Foundation Stage by Lesley Hendy which may be helpful. As far as fitting in your phonics etc. I did this seperately in another part of the day, as Mantle of the Expert is about holistic learning and using what they have learnt, and the children realising the necessity to find out. it doesn't mean that you stop doing the basics- they apply the basics. I hope that you can follow that.
Sue R Posted October 14, 2006 Posted October 14, 2006 Jane, I'd be happy to share how we work, as Susan has suggested, if it's any use to you. If my blog explanantions aren't clear enough, please get back to me, either here or PM. Sue
Marion Posted October 14, 2006 Posted October 14, 2006 We have used aspects but really just dipped into it. Something Id like to know more about in practice. http://www.mantleoftheexpert.com/resources/planning.html http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachers/issu...glessonstolife/
Marion Posted November 28, 2006 Posted November 28, 2006 My head is looking further into using this and I came across this which I think must be the school mentioned http://www.creative-corner.co.uk/schools/b..._the_expert.htm
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