In this one-year programme, you will learn about Mantle of the Expert and how to apply it in your classroom.
This programme is a joint organisation by the Department of Teaching & Training at AP Hogeschool and the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp.
Mantle of the Expert is a teaching method developed in the 1970s and 1980s by drama teacher Dorothy Heathcote. It is a form of process drama: the teacher, together with the students, creates an imaginary world in which they go on a mission for a (fictitious) client.
For example: they can become a team of animal rescuers who, at the request of a distraught mayor, must locate, capture and safely return escaped wild animals to the zoo. During their mission they will learn all about nutrition, housing and care and will be challenged to think about some ethical issues. They will put on the Mantle of an Expert to gain the appropriate knowledge and skills.
The postgraduate course is aimed at people who are in the teaching profession - primary, secondary school or art education - and want to learn more about drama as an (artistic) teaching tool.
Mantle of the Expert can be used in compulsory education, but also has great added value within art education or arts education. The method remains the same, but a focus on specific elements can add value to the process and product in an artistic setting.
The course consists of pedagogy and practice. Over the course of the training program, participants will develop from a novice practitioner to someone who is advanced in the use of the method. In addition to class time and the support of a personal mentor, participants are expected to work in their own classrooms using the techniques provided to them. Planning, practicing and reflecting on the use of Mantle of the Expert is key in their own learning.