Teaching as Story-Making: bringing learning to life — Tim Taylor
How can we make learning feel purposeful, memorable and alive, while still keeping a clear focus on curriculum, knowledge and progression?
This practical workshop introduces Teaching as Story-Making, an approach to teaching and learning rooted in dramatic inquiry and inspired by Mantle of the Expert. It uses carefully constructed story contexts to give students a reason to think, talk, read, write, investigate and make decisions.
Designed for headteachers and KS1 and KS2 teachers, the session will show how story can be used to create a purposeful buzz in the classroom, deepen engagement, and support meaningful curriculum learning. Participants will see how a simple story frame can open up rich possibilities for inquiry, oracy, writing and subject learning.
The workshop will include practical examples, classroom strategies and planning ideas that teachers can take away and adapt for their own settings.
About the speaker
Tim Taylor is author of ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Mantle of the Expert’ and with Viv Aitken the book ‘Try This: Unlocking Learning With Imagination’. Tim has been using Mantle of the Expert since it was first introduced to him by Luke Abbott at Tuckswood First School, Norwich in 1995. He is a teacher-trainer of the approach and has worked in many schools across the UK and in other countries, including New Zealand, USA, Palestine, Jordan, Iceland, and across Europe. Tim is a visiting lecturer at Newcastle University and has run training sessions at many other educational conferences and training institutions. He has written extensively for the Guardian and other education publications.
