In the late 1970s, a drama practitioner named Dorothy Heathcote found herself wondering how to improve her annual Nativity production: ‘It began to dawn on me: people had to have a point of view. 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.’
Following on from these initial thoughts, Heathcote would spend several years working with graduate students at Newcastle University developing her ideas into what would come to be known as the Mantle of the Expert (MoE) approach.
The approach
A mixture of improvisation and discussion, MoE leads students through an imagined scenario in which they adopt the role of an expert and collaborate on resolving a problem.
Timothy Taylor is one of the teacher-trainers at the organisation and he says that what attracted him to MoE was, ‘the way it made curriculum learning, exciting, purposeful and meaningful to my students.’
While initially born out of a Nativity play, the scope for the technique is only as limited as the practitioner's imagination. One of the main objectives is to create a safe space in which students feel comfortable to try their best – it must be made clear to them that they are pretending to think and act as an expert might, but are not expected to be an expert. Younger children have an easier time intuiting this concept; they may pretend to be a superhero but know that they cannot fly or lift cars.
When used with primary school students, scenarios might include being museum curators planning an exhibition on that term's topic or scientists hunting for new species on an island. The approach can be used to help older students tackle complex issues with the website giving examples such as dock workers discovering trafficked humans in a shipping containers and a PR team trying to save the reputation of a zoo accused of racist hiring practices. In all of these scenarios, students are presented with an objective and must work to achieve the best result. Cooperation is encouraged above competition, with MoE working best when groups are not split up and instead think their way towards a common goal.
The organisation
Luckily, you don't need to have attended the University of Newcastle in the 1980s to learn how to use mantle of the expert techniques in your teaching. An organisation called (what else) Mantle of the Expert frequently holds training opportunities in a variety of formats. Some are offered as single sessions, with weekend and summer schools happening regularly. What's important to note is that the training is organised on a bespoke basis; this summer saw MoE run courses in Belgium, Jordan and New Zealand – a testament to the appeal and adaptability of the approach.
Anyone wanting to train in MoE can expect support in a number of areas, with Taylor explaining: ‘MoE is a drama-for-learning approach. We introduce beginners to the idea of co-creating a fiction, teacher-in-role, adult-in-role, the use of various drama strategies, and the use of Heathcote's list of drama conventions. As their understanding develops we work on frame-distance, building tension, developing concern, and the use of sign.’
With the teacher assuming a particular role in the conjured narrative, MoE does seem suited towards a drama teacher's skillset. However, as MoE exists as a method of bringing drama out of the studio, is it actually useful for drama teachers? ‘I believe so,’ says Taylor. ‘I'm not a drama teacher, but when I work with drama teachers using MoE there is always an interesting conversation about how it uses drama in a slightly different way. In particular the difference between Neelands’ conventions list and Heathcote's.’
To return to the origins of MoE though, it's easy to see how the approach could yield great results in unlocking a performance. Asking students to assume the role of, say, the expert Hamlet or the expert Desdemona could help bring the character's conflict to life and instil in students the confidence to fully inhabit their role – to become the expert. In developing teachers who can create an environment where students can take risks and demonstrate their understanding of a character through play, MoE shows itself to be a useful toolkit to develop.
All MoE courses are tailored for their audience. To start a conversation about what training and support is available, visit mantleoftheexpert.com