ROLE PLAY PROBLEM SOLVING
GOAL & METHOD
GOAL#1 : LEARNERS AUTONOMY AND SELF-DETERMINATION
METHOD#4: train learners’ problem solving skills
Advised Age Group
14-19 year-old
Target
All learners; works better in classes with positive social
relationships
Subject
HUMANITIES, PRACTICAL SUBJECTS, SOCIAL SCIENCES
Requires
Search engines, interactive whiteboard (IWB), graphic representation tools
Length
SHORT
Role playing
Role play helps learners in making decisions especially when emphasized with others. In this kind of play they have to behave, think, act… as someone else. And try to understand the reasons for their behaviour.
Sometimes they also have to debate and get conclusions. So earners have to defend their opinion, but also to yield to other points of views. This works particularly well when a situation or issue in real life is simulated in class.
Chose the situation
The situation and the roles can vary depending on the classgroup: choose a generic situation and relationship, such as vendor and customer, boss and worker, trainer and trainee, etc. You might prepare a written set of situations, roles and relationships to be read before starting the role play.
SUMMING UP
Often, in schools teachers are very worried about discipline, about achieving high study levels, and tend to forget that there are other values that are even more important. Young people live in a society that tends to forget “to walk in other people’s shoes”. It is the responsibility of teachers to develop empathy among the learners.