In role plays, participants are informed of the situation beforehand and are assigned different perspectives or roles to act out within the scenario. Role play promotes work in groups, practices participants’ social skills and potentially generates student enthusiasm and interest. It also provides an opportunity for participants to practice what they have learned through analyzing the context of a situation.
Implementation
In the preparation stage:
Define the problem and the core concept of the activity
Introduce each step of the role play clearly and make sure that students understand the objectives of the activity thoroughly
Give students some time to review the situation
Rearrange the room accordingly
In the playing stage:
Avoid making corrections until the role play is finished
Take time to set the stage and establish the mood for the role play
Step in to pose challenging and relevant questions when necessary
Make sure all roles are active
Assist students in bringing the activity to a conclusion
In the debriefing stage:
Discuss the process of the role play with students
Summarize points and ideas from students
Evaluate the activity and collect feedback from students
Application and variation
Lou Furman suggested that role plays can be implemented in “random sequence”. Group members were normally assigned to participate in a definite order, random sequence allows participants to involve themselves at their own pace which they can apt to risk sharing his ideas and feelings.
Furman, L. (1990), Creative Drama Handbook and Role Play Guide, US: Pioneer Drama Service Inc.
Extended readings
Read more about role plays in education on the papers and/or websites below:
Gangel, K. O. (n.d.). Teaching through role playing. Teachers can click on the link below for more information: http://bible.org/seriespage/teaching-through-role-playing
McKeachie, W. J. (1986). Teaching tips: A guidebook for the beginning college teacher (8th ed.). Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Co.
Ota, C., DiCarlo, C. F., Burts, D. C., Laird, R., & Gioe, C. (2006). Training and the needs of adult learners, Journal of Extension, 44(6). Teachers can click on the link below for more information: http://www.joe.org/joe/2006december/tt5.php
Vincent, A., & Shephard, J. (1998). Experiences in teaching middle east politics via internet-based role-play simulations. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 98(11). Teachers can click on the link below for more information: http://www-jime.open.ac.uk/98/11
Ideas:
Role plays for learning of client/ service provider relationship. The Department of Engineering utilized roleplay as a mean to simulate the experience of being a designer or an owner of a product. Please click here for more information.
Role plays in class time. The Science Education Resource Centre, Carleton College, described on their website a number of role-playing exercises that have been used in undergraduate classrooms. Read more at: Science Education Resource Centre, Carleton College. (n.d.). Role-playing scenarios. Teachers can click on the link below for more information: http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/roleplaying/scenario.html
Role plays for language learning. This video shows how teachers use role play in language courses as a means to encourage students in mastering the use of English in their daily lives. View the video at: BridgeTEFL. (June 30, 2009). Teaching function: finding an apartment [Video file]. Teachers can click on the link below for more information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_BSyFo3IFs
Role plays for pseudo-authentic negotiations in real life. Role-playing simulation was incorporated into three undergraduate classes at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Read more on: Endersby, J. W., & Webber, D. J. (1995). Iron triangle simulation: A role-playing game for undergraduates in congress, interest groups, and public policy classes. PS: Political Science and Politics, 28(3), 520–523. CUHK teachers can click on the link below for more information: http://www.jstor.org/stable/420323
Role plays for learning of client/ service provider relationship.