Dorothy Heathcote Explains
I spent this morning's MELT reading about the Mantle of the Expert work by Dorothy Heathcote, Dorothy explains that she doesn't go into the group with preconceived ideas about what's going to happen. She begins with an idea of what might interest them. Dorothy asks them for their ideas, then sees that their ideas come 'into the action'. So she,
"tries to come is as a bit like a gas cooker at nothing."The students (mainly boys) enjoy having their input into the play and working on improvisation, rather than follow a script. This 'exposes their ideas'.
After the improvised play, the students talk about what happened and the 'characters' were able to share their feelings (demonstrating empathy) when in role. Students were also able to ask deeper questions about the actions and decisions made by the characters. I felt this was significant when the students had performed a play in response to a story or piece of history that they had been studying.
Dorothy mentions "teaching teachers to receive and not to structure so that things flow from children", instead of 'doing'. I guess this is why 'Mantle of the Expert' sparked my own curiosity as I feel that learning is more powerful when the learner is leading the pace and direction. This process for learning would also enable cultural inclusiveness, because each child has a story to tell.
Sites to visit for further ideas:
Videos to watch:
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