Bryngarw Country Park in Bridgend became a fantastic make-believe world for a group of local schoolchildren who brought a revolutionary learning technique to life through the power of their imagination.
The children, from St Robert’s Primary School, took part in a Mantle of the Expert teacher training workshop run by Paul Gibbins of Operative Learning in conjunction with Forestry Commission Wales.
The technique involves pupils putting the real world to one side and tackling a problem as if they are imaginary experts within a given situation.
They might be scientists in a laboratory or archaeologists excavating a tomb or a rescue team at the scene of a disaster.
The technique empowers the children by actively engaging them in problem solving and allowing them to make decisions.
Mantle of the Expert can improve the skills of Foundation Phase practitioners by helping them to work creatively, dramatically and imaginatively with pupils.
Members of the Bridgend Forest Education Initiative (FEI) group, the majority of which are teachers with a passion for outdoor learning, took part in the workshop which aimed to show how drama can transform woodlands into an exciting and stimulating learning environment.
Forestry Commission Education Officer Geminie Drinkwater was delighted with the new perspective the workshop brought to the delivery of outdoor education.
“I hope that in the coming months those who attended the workshop will be able to put this method into practice, enhancing the experience of woodland learning for all children,” she said.
“It was fascinating to see how drama can be used to extend learning in a woodland environment, and it’s definitely something that I intend to incorporate into my educational sessions with schools in the future.”
