The Educational Research and Development Programme (ERDP) / A. M. Qattan Foundation (AMQF) has recently published the first Arabic edition of A Beginner’s Guide to Mantle of the Expert: A Transformative Approach to Education, authored by Time Taylor. Translated into Arabic by Walid al-Swirki, the Arabic version was reviewed by Wasim Al-Kurdi, ERDP Director, Motasem Atrash, ERDP researcher, and Na’im Himad, a teacher.
Taylor presents several components of mantle of the expert (MoE) approach to education. Laying out the MoE principles and key elements, the book provides a guide to using and planning MoE in imaginative contexts for learning. The book is informed by Taylor’s longstanding experience as a teacher, lecturer and MoE specialist instructor for more than 20 years.
Through MoE, students work though imaginative participation in a fictional context as a team of experts, who have their own powers and responsibilities. They work for a client, who sets standards and requests information. The tasks and activities, which the client authorises the students to carry out, offer expanded opportunities to learn about the curriculum.
MoE gives children a sense of their learning and bridges the gap between the classroom and real life situations. In this context, the book also offers teachers the opportunity to explore the content of the school curriculum in a way that attaches importance to children’s work, making it both necessary and interesting.
Through its Translation and Publication Track, the ERDP offers a collection of Arabic and translated books and articles to other tracks and projects of the Programme. The ERDP provides teachers, and interested audiences in general, with high quality, specialised sources in pedagogy, drama, education and science.
Drama in a Learning Context is a key activity of the ERDP. In this context, the Programme has been organising the Summer School: Drama in a Learning Context for 12 years. Supervised by dedicated teaching staff members, including Tim Taylor, the Summer School has brought together dozens of male and female teachers as well as early childhood educators from across Palestine and the Arab world. The ERDP also holds drama workshops throughout the year.
The book is available at the AMQF Library in Ramallah. It will be available in Gaza soon.