Miguel's Mantle of the Expert adventures

Viv says: Last time we talked, we looked at a possible sequence for the opening few sessions. I'll share this outline here but I bet things changed in practice, right Miguel? Yes they did :) We also had much shorter lessons than anticipated and fewer lessons due to school closures and meetings. That's ok though as I am enjoying the challenge of fitting in the MOTE whenever we can, and I have been excitedly saying things like "hopefully we will have time to do some drama later?" Yay! Suggested sequence was: 1. A warm up on preparing to play / imagine through the "Scarf game" (kind of like the object transformation in this link ) This went swimmingly. The kids first co-constructed the  requirements for a safe drama environment  and then agreed to honour them for their classmates. They enjoyed the scarf game and they were pumped to get started. 2. A trading game activity on the question "what is identity?" (Trading game described here by...

Freeze Frames: 'How the adze was lost...' Freeze Frames: 'How the adze was lost...' Freeze Frames: 'How the adze was lost...' Freeze Frames: 'How the adze was lost...' Freeze Frames: 'How the adze was lost... 'Freeze Frames: 'How the adze was lost...'        Research and Logo Design Research Comic book script: 'How the adze was lost...' CLICK 'SUBSCRIBE' IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW ON THE JOURNEY...

Great to have a chat today and hear how well the Mantle has been going ... It's such a pleasure to see a teacher all excited and animated about their teaching as you were today Miguel - good on you! .... It's clear both you and the children are having a really great time. Fingers crossed those final few permission slips come in tomorrow as I'm dying to see / share the photos you've been taking along the way. What have been your personal highlights so far? Personal highlights for me are: hearing the kids speaking positively about MOTE as a new and exciting thing they are doing; their willingness to take risks; the deep connection to the topic of identity that the kids are experiencing, especially through oral language. But most of all, the way some of the shy kids have come out of their shell since being swept away in the process...what a catalyst for change it has been for them. I have seen them blossom before my eyes. Worth it! Our conversation about engagement re...

Welcome to our blog!  We are Miguel Garcia and Viv Aitken.  This is what we look like:                                            Miguel is a beginning teacher at Intermediate level, living the dream in New Plymouth. Viv is a lecturer, research and PLD facilitator based in Palmerston North. We're using this blog to record our planning and reflection conversations about Mantle of the Expert. We're hoping our posts will be of interest to teachers starting out in Mantle. We'd love to get comments, tips and advice from experienced teachers too - all comments welcome! We'll be sharing our ups and downs, mistakes and triumphs and hope to include contributions from children in the class as well. Viv says: What brought us to this point? Well, last year Miguel bravely embarked on his first attempt at teaching in Mantle of the Expert. He came to me, his prev...