Mantle of the Expert and Drama for Learning

What is Mantle of the Expert?

Mantle of the Expert is a way of teaching through drama, developed here in Newcastle by Dorothy Heathcote. Children become a team of experts, such as archaeologists, travel advisers or a coast rescue crew and work on a commission for a client. To do the job well, they need to learn real history, geography and English. The fiction gives the learning a purpose however, the knowledge is always real.

Why we use it

  •        Learning has a purpose. Children research, write and present because the team needs it, not just because their teacher has told them 
  •        Children talk more. Expert meetings, debates and presentations build the oracy skills children need for life.
  •        Children see the world from the inside. Drama helps them understand other people's lives, choices and feelings, past and present.
  •        Children take responsibility. As experts, they make decisions, solve problems and see their ideas matter.

How it works at St John's

Every year group has a fixed unit of work: the knowledge, skills, fieldwork and English outcomes every child must learn. Around it, teachers build the fiction with their class, so it is origional and new and owned by the children each year. Our approach draws on the work of Dorothy Heathcote, Tim Taylor and Luke Abbott.

Drama for learning: what you might see

  •        Teacher in role: the teacher becomes a character, such as a Roman emperor or a Cullercoats fishwife..
  •        Hot-seating: children ask questions of someone in role to find out more.
  •        Freeze-frames: groups make a still picture of a moment, then speak their thoughts.
  •        Conscience alley: two lines of children give advice to someone making a difficult choice.
  •        Expert meetings: the team discusses, disagrees politely and makes decisions together.

Examples from this year

Year

The experts

The commission

Year 2

A coast rescue crew above Tynemouth

Learn our coast so they can keep people safe

Year 3

Advisers at the temple of Apollo at Delphi

Give visitors from ancient Greece honest, evidence-based advice

Year 3

Travel advisers

Help people from the North East discover Greece fairly

Year 4

A theatre company

Tell the story of Benwell's lost coal pits

Year 5

Forest advisers and young rangers

Compare the Amazon with a North East woodland and decide what should happen next

How you can help at home

  •        Ask your child: "What is your team working on? Who is your client?"
  •        Ask them to teach you something their team has found out.
  •        Come to the showcases at the end of units, when children present to real audiences.