Authors
Tim Taylor works in the UK and internationally, developing and promoting innovation in teaching and learning and ways to engage children in education. Much of his time is spent in classrooms working with students between the ages of four and eleven, demonstrating learning with imagination and supporting teachers. Tim is author of A Beginner’s Guide to Mantle of the Expert (Signature Press, 2016) and web manager for www.mantleoftheexpert.com. As well as teaching in schools, he works in universities and as a teacher trainer, both in the UK and abroad. Tim started teaching in the late 1980’s working as an English language teacher in Pilsen, Czech Republic and Madrid. After returning to England in the early 90’s he worked in a First school in Norwich, later as a deputy head, and for a while as a schools adviser for Essex County Council. He’s been a freelance teacher since 2014.
Dr Viv Aitken has worked in education for thirty years as a teacher, lecturer, academic researcher, supervisor, and consultant. Formerly Associate Professor at Te Aho o Maui, Eastern Institute of Technology and Senior Lecturer in Education at Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato, University of Waikato, Viv is now a Research Associate (Waikato) and a Ministry of Education-accredited PLD facilitator (Tātai Angitū E3 @ Massey). Viv has the privilege of working with teachers, school leaders, and community education providers across Aotearoa, focussing on local curriculum development with Dramatic Inquiry approaches. She has published widely, with peer-reviewed journal articles, conference presentations, keynotes, podcasts, chapters and books related to her research and teaching. Most recent is Real in all the Ways that Matter: Weaving learning across the curriculum with Mantle of the Expert (NZCER 2021). Viv convenes www.mantleoftheexpert.co.nz and she is a proud founding member of the Dramatic Inquiry Network Aotearoa Trust; a Ministry-funded Network of Expertise.
Collaborators
THEN – Histories of Pāmutana is the local history practice of Virginia Warbrick (Pākeha) and Warren Warbrick (Rangitāne ki Manawatū, Te Arawa). Their project work ranges from creating postage stamp-sized drawings to being ‘Creatives in Schools’ to designing a 500m long kōwhaiwhai-style path at the edge of the Manawatū Awa. They have performed historically inspired mahi at the Medellín International Poetry Festival, Colombia and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Scotland. In 2021, the Warbricks were named the Local Historian of the Year by the Palmerston North Heritage Trust.
- Charlie Watson – Singular Publishing – editing and publishing
- Virginia Warbrick – illustrations
- Emily Benton – book design
- Dicky – tech support and web design
