Developed by British drama guru Dorothy Heathcote from the 1970s onwards, Mantle of the Expert (MoE) is a process-drama technique involving the creation of a fictional world where school children assume the roles of experts in a particular field. A problem or task is established and the teacher and children use imagination and role-play to explore the issue. The children may be involved in mimed activities, improvisation, research or discussion. The teacher's role is to guide the drama, stepping in and out of role as necessary, providing encouragement and motivation to the experts. The technique gives pupils an opportunity to assume responsible roles and can be a highly effective method of interactive learning. In the UK, many primary and some secondary schools are adopting Mantle of the Expert as a cross-curricular approach.

• Mantleoftheexpert.com is an in-depth website entirely devoted to this technique, containing many useful resources
• In this video from QCA Futures, Duncan Bathgate (Bealings School, Suffolk) describes how to set up a Mantle of the Expert inquiry with the children in role as a business enterprise.