Luke Abbott (shown in the photo, right) has taught in all phases including special schools. His previous posts have been teaching in middle schools, special and community schools in English Humanities and the Arts. He has also managed teaching and learning developments across innovative school centres, as well as tutoring a countrywide Advanced Diploma for Teachers in all phases. He represented drama for learning on the RSA Arts Board as a National Examiner and was a member of the QCA Advisory Panel for the Arts in Education. His current post is with Essex LEA as a Lead Senior Advisor.
His interests have always been in curriculum innovation and teaching. He has trained with the great teacher artist Professor Dorothy Heathcote at Newcastle upon Tyne University for his Masters degree. Since then he has deliberately used her pioneering systems and methods where ever possible - particularly Mantle of the Expert. Luke has recently taken up visiting post as associate professor at Northwestern University Chicago, and at Ohio State University where he created and tutored the City of Columbus Leadership weeklong programmes in ‘Leading for Learning’.
He has examined and moderated on Master level courses at universities in the UK and has led many seminars and teaching laboratories on the teaching of drama, learning and teaching and developments in critical thinking processes, throughout the UK and USA.
The laboratory method Luke uses to facilitate learning in professionals has been the context of a PhD research study completed at the University of Wisconsin Madison.
‘Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t you are probably right.’