Role Plays

Short Description

In Role-Playing, according to Stanford Teaching Commons, a student assumes the perspective of another character in a scenario designed to create a deeper understanding of a topic, issue, and human interaction.

The instructor will stage the exercise by identifying the topics, characters, issues and purpose. Before the exercise begins, students should research the topic, study their role and have a basic knowledge of the context. The exercise should then be followed by a small group or class discussion to guide and further consolidate learning.

Case Study

Tools

Role play cases/scenarios:
Harvard Law School Role Simulations 
Starting Point Role-Playing Scenarios by Type

Scenario

Role-playing is considered to be among the most complex of active learning strategies. Despite requiring an instructor’s hard work in both presentation and execution, this hard work is compensated with student motivation and accomplishment. According to Pedagogy in Action, there are 7 main steps:

1. Define objectives.
   1. Determine what you want to accomplish in order to decide what to include in the exercise and why.
2. Choose context & roles.
   1. Decide on a problem related to the chosen topic of study and a setting for the characters.
   2. Should be realistic.
   3. Define character’s goals and what happens if the character does not achieve these goals.
   4. Develop each characters’ background information or instructions on how to collect this information.
3. Introducing the exercise.
   1. Engage the students in the scenario by describing the setting and problem.
4. Student preparation/research. Even if you have limited time, students will need some time to read about their character and adapt to their role.
5. The Role-Play
6. Concluding discussion.
   1. Debrief students on what they have learned via class discussion.
7. Assessment.
   1. Factors that can influence grades:
      1. Playing in-character
      2. Being constructive and respectful
      3. Ability to analyze character’s situation or another character’s position.

Assessment

As previously mentioned, a student could be assessed by 3 factors. One could evaluate the student’s ability to play in character. Another factor could be the extent to which the student was constructive and respectful. Finally, one could assess the student’s ability to analyze the character’s situation or another character’s position.

Additional Resources

Pedagogy in Action Role-Playing Exercises

University of Minnesota Active Learning

Technology Enhanced Learning at SHU Role-play: An Approach to Teaching and Learning

Stanford University Promoting Active Learning

Connection with other methods

Peer-to-peer discussions
Feedback exchange
Work in teams
Group discussion
Debates
Problem-based learning
Experiential learning