Creative approach - Mantle of Expert

Mantle of the Expert 

The Mantle of Expert was developed by Professor Dorothy Heathcote in the 1980s, this approach uses imaginary contexts that will generate a more purposeful and engaging activities for learning. “The Mantle of the Expert approach places the child at the centre of the learning. The teachers role is to create the conditions whereby a mantle of leadership, knowledge, competency and understanding grows around the child” according to (Aitken, V, 2013).

The children will become imagined ‘experts’ for their curriculum and for the children to complete their work for the lesson that has been made from the teacher.

The lesson that has been created would allow the children to become an expert and be involved within that imaginary world, for example, the children are archaeologists working with a museum in Cairo and they are excavating a tomb. For the children to complete this, they would need to find out more information about Cairo’s history, different artefacts, tombs and if there any rituals. Alongside this, they will also be developing their language, literacy and socialising skills, problem solving skills, learning about the world around them and also giving them a sense of responsibilities and learning how to work as a group/team. Furthermore, it would also be touching on other subjects, which can include; geography, history and religious studies. 

Here is a video where a group of year 2/3 are using the Mantle of Expert 

The Mantle of the Expert has three pedagogic structures, here is a picture: 

Drama for learning, this is for both children and the teachers and are working in and out of the role.

Enquiry learning, this is problem solving and asking questions, whilst also doing research.

Expert framing, this frame asks the children to think about the learning in new way. 

Furthermore, for the Mantle of the Expert to work, the teachers need to be conscious and adapt to all three modes for the learning to work its best. 

The Mantle of the Expert allows children to be responsible experts, can also increase their engagement within the class, develop their critical thinking, creativity, help with teamwork, and developing communication skills. As MantleoftheExpert states “The creation of fictional context where the students experiment with making decisions, taking on responsibilities, and meeting challenging situations, is a kind of ‘safe zone’ within the classroom. Unlike in the real world, where children would rarely, if ever, have the kinds of experiences generated by MoE, in an imaginary world they can explore, discuss, and evaluate them as if they were real.”