ROLE PLAY

ROLE PLAY

 

Role-play is a valuable teaching and training tool that delivers immense amount of imprinted learning. This learning is retained and recalled better through the role-play experience. While it is evolving as a very effective, interactive teaching and training tool, many feel unprepared and uncomfortable about participating, or using role-play in routine teaching and training

What is role-play

Role play in a simulation exercise where persons take on assumed roles in order to act out a scenario in a contrived setting. The learners or participants can act out the assigned roles in order to explore the scenario, apply skills (maybe communication, negotiation, debate etc.),

How does role-play work?

The choice of the role-play relies on the learning agenda and has to have clear aims and objectives. There are various ways role-play can work.

a) Observation : learning through observation and reflection happens when a group of learners watch a specifically constructed role-play using actors, simulators or even played by the tutors.

b) Modelling: Helps to learn a concept or an idea through participation. For example children can learn about history and historical figures by acting out scenes. While adults can participate in a constructed scenario- like an angry customer, worried patients etc.

c) Contemplation: It helps to stimulate analysis through exploring complex concepts and debating issues- usually ethical problems where there is no clear right or wrong.

d) Skills development: The participant can practice and develop skills such as breaking bad news, calming down an angry client, negotiating with customers etc.

e)Self-reflection: through participating in role-play the learners are bring many of their hidden attitudes to the surface and it helps them understand their own prejudices biases and assumptions. It helps to see the world through the other persons eyes and understand methods of communicating.

f) Re-enaction: By re-enacting a past experience it helps to bring recall, catharsis and also helps to identify creative solutions to a problem that could have previously difficult due to emotional distress

Constructing a role-play

Role-plays can be simple or complex, short or long and can be adapted to suit the needs of what is being taught or explored. If it is a simple skills being practiced we can set the scene quickly and let the participants practice.

The key steps in constructing a role-play are:

a) Define Aims and Objectives (is it to practice skills, explore concepts etc.)

b) Define setting/placement

c) Define clear role descriptors and what they will say (at least an outline)

d) Define time limit

e) Define observer tasks (if any)

f) Define ground rules of safety and feedback

g) Define debrief agenda

h) Define facilitator tasks

 

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of Role-Play	Disadvantages
Energising activity / fun to do	Participants may be too shy and reluctant
Allows participants to contribute actively (even the quieter ones)	Can be threatening to some
It is Time efficient	It can become ‘too much fun’ and disrupt the task
Experiential learning is more powerful than instructions.	Participants can get too involved and loose objectivity
It delivers complex concepts in a simple manner	Participants can overact and show off The observers may not observe well or take notes
Needs little preparation for the teacher/facilitator (unless you want to print out role descriptors)	The observers may take ‘sides’ based on their preconceptions

SUBMITTED BY LEKSHMY.R.P

NATURAL SCIENCE 2013-2014