Mantle of the Expert is an education approach that uses imaginary contexts to generate purposeful and engaging learning activities. Within this fictional framework students are cast as a team of experts working for a client on a commission designed by the teacher, one that generates tasks meeting the client's requirements while giving students opportunities to explore curriculum areas; a class might, for example, be cast as archaeologists excavating an Egyptian tomb for the Cairo Museum, researching ancient Egyptian history including tombs, artifacts and rituals to complete the commission. The approach supports the study of history, geography, art and design alongside reading, writing, problem-solving and inquiry skills, and is intended to be used selectively alongside other teaching methods rather than as a wholesale replacement for them.
Facts
Classification
Education LevelPrimary Education (ISCED 1) 1 Education LevelLower Secondary Education (ISCED 2) 1 Education LevelUpper Secondary Education (ISCED 3) 1 Partially Attested
Origin YearWikipedia places the origin in the mid-1970s at Newcastle University without a precise year; Heathcote herself did not date the originating classroom context precisely. Core ClaimMantle of the Expert is a drama-based education approach in which students are cast as a team of experts undertaking a commission for a fictional client, using that imagined role to give purpose and engagement to ordinary curriculum work across subjects. 2 FAQs
Do students in Mantle of the Expert believe they really are experts?
No. Students know the fiction is a fiction, and they are experts only within it.
No. From the outset students understand that they are taking part in a fictional scenario. Mantle of the Expert is not a simulation meant to deceive them into believing the context is real, and the mantle is metaphorical: it does not imply that students hold real-world expertise.
Connections
Associated With
Source Process drama (Wikipedia)
Developed By
Source Mantle of the expert (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Mantle of the expert (Wikipedia)
Lead paragraph, education-level
Mantle of the Expert is an education approach that uses imaginary contexts to generate purposeful and engaging activities for learning.
Article text
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.
Developed By: Dorothy Heathcote, Body
Dorothy Heathcote developed Mantle of the Expert at Newcastle University during the 1970s and 1980s.
View the Source2. Mantle of the expert (Wikipedia)
Lead section
students are cast as a team of experts working for a client on a commission
Origins section
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.
Lead section, first sentence
Mantle of the Expert is an education approach that uses imaginary contexts to generate purposeful and engaging activities for learning.
Process drama (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Process Drama, Origins section (Process drama)Quote, Associated With: Process Drama, Origins section (Process drama)
process drama developed primarily from the work of Brian Way, Dorothy Heathcote and Gavin Bolton and through the work of other leading drama practitioners.
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