Oops!: Helping Children Learn Accidentally

This is about engaging children and young people in great learning so well they barely know they are learning, let alone learning well. Drawing on Hywel's years of experience using drama and 'The Mantle of the Expert' (and much more besides) to draw the best out of young people, this book is about the dance that happens between teachers and learners, it's about the importance of relationships in that engagement, it's about how to build and sustain rapport with learners. And it's about finding a delight and a joy in the process of learning, enhanced by those spontaneous, serendipitous events that help you remember just why you came into the job in the first place.

About the Author :
Hywel Roberts is a creative educator with sixteen years experience in the classroom teaching secondary Drama and English in schools, both rough and smooth. Hywel is now a freelance consultant and Independent Thinking Associate specialising in Drama for Learning, Mantle of the Expert, Lures into Learning and engagement across all phases of learning.

Review :
A book of happy accidents and improvisations that would be a lovely addition to any teacher's bookshelf - Ian McMillan, Poet, broadcaster and comedian The voice of a true pioneer, clear and sure in the belief that teaching is an amalgam of so many things beyond 'subject knowledge'. The book races along at an almost breathless speed-just like the writer. Luke Abbott, Director of Mantle of the Expert Oops! is about principles. It's about a mentality that encourages us to drop the reins of rigid, boring schemes of work and instead create learning that is exciting and relevant! Jamie Portman, Assistant Headteacher, Campsmount Technology College Hywel Roberts' message is that engagement is the message and in delivering it he's sharp, he's intellectually underpinned, he's effervescent, he's the teacher you wished your teachers had seen teach. Phil Beadle, teacher, broadcaster, author If you want the children in your school to make great progress and remember you as a teacher who made learning fun, dip into this book for inspiration and ideas. Diane Heritage, Deputy Lead Associate, North of England National College This book had Hywel Roberts' inspirational stamp of wit and infectious enthusiasm running right through its core: I read the whole book with a huge grin on my face. Ruth Saxton - Primary School Teacher and Chair for NATD Whether you are a student teacher, NQT or school leader, this is a genuine guide to pushing your own practice. Dave Whitaker, Executive Deputy Headteacher, Springwell Community School Hywel makes the art of questioning, waiting and trusting learners to rise to the situation safer and less scary for teachers. Go on - try one or two of his ideas - they really work. Karen Ardley, Karen Ardley Associates It's no accident that Hywel Roberts - himself a world leader in enthusiasm - has written a must read book for teachers. Oops! brings together insight, pizzazz, wit and quirkiness into one happy place, it's a joy of a book written by a great teacher. Alistair Smith, learning consultant and author, www.alistairsmithlearning.com Oops! must be essential reading for student teachers. It is a dossier for practical teaching and describes the pedagogy of 'the buzzing'. - I am buying a copy for each of the team at school. Richard Kieran, Headteacher, Woodrow First School Oops! makes you smile, wince, laugh, and ponder ... and, most of all, think; think how enjoyable teaching can be if we invest in ourselves as teachers. Mick Waters, Professor of Education at Wolverhampton University