This is a seminar (for fellow teacher candidates) on integrating role play and simulation into the classroom.

1. Role Playing and Simulation
By Deborah Murdoch and Kim Knox

2. “You can never truly
judge a person until
you’ve walked a mile in
their shoes”

3. “You never really understand a person
until you consider things from his point of
view […] until you climb into his skin and
walk around in it.”
– Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

4. Acting Taking on another
identity
What is
Role Playing?
Decision-making
spontaneous

5. Definition of Role Play
Educational Role Play asks each student to take
the role of a person affected by an issue and
studies the impacts of the issues on human
life and/or the effects of human activities on
the world around us from the perspective of
that person.

6. Objective of the teacher
to challenge your students to eliminate all
personal subjectivity and take on a different
persona and perspective.

7. Types of Role Play
1. Tableaux
– A striking scene or picture created by organizing
students in a staged pose, often in costume
– A series of tableaux can be used effectively to recreate
an event, especially when a narrator describes the
various scenes and the progression of events
– Benefits: can be less intimidating because while
everyone can participate, not everyone has to speak
– *The tableaux must is the debriefing after the activity
to explain why and what the group has done.

8. Questions you should ask in the debrief:
1. What was portrayed?
2. Why was it important?
3. Was it a plausible recreation of the event?
4. What aspects do we need to learn more
about?
5. Are there other interpretations of what
happened?
6. What have we learned from this activity?

9. Types of Role Play
2. Stepping into History
– Involves students in role playing people in a painting or
photograph
– The idea is to assign a role based on the person in the
picture. Students research their characters and then
they can create a conversation about the issue that is
the subject or reason for the picture.
– Benefit: this activity stirs up the student’s historical
imaginations, uses critical thinking and encourages them
to research, discuss and identify people/places in
history.
– Caution: It should encourage some imaginative dialogue,
but avoid inauthentic dialogue

10. Last Spike
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tHyVWN_FhI0/TNdkO6xuvWI/AAAAAAAABEg/B9exqrM5c
H8/s1600/last-spike.jpg

11. Father’s of Confederation at the Charlottetown conference
http://www.uppercanadahistory.ca/pp/pp9p1.jpg

12. Types of Role Play
3. Heritage or History in a minute
– Help students choose or research a person, event or even a
popular product of the time
– Divide the class into small production teams and ask them to
write a storyboard for their history minute
– Students can choose between a video or presentation in front
of the class
– You could possibly be use this assignment for review

13. Heritage Minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1jG58nghRo

14. Types of Role Play
4. Teacher Role Play
– Teacher can take on a role of a certain character in history
while teaching that class
Clip from Glee

15. Types of Role Play
5. Post-cards from the Past
– Students are to create post-cards from the perspective of
individuals living in a given time period
– The post-card should be historically accurate, written in first-
person narrative, proper post-card format and must include
a picture of the person on the front.
– Benefits: It is more engaging then simply writing a letter or
drawing a picture. The students are able to take on a
persona rather than write a biography.
– www.histori.ca
– www.archives.ca

16. Role play activity
Post-cards from the Past

17. Living history
Enacting an event
What is
Simulation?
Immersed
into an
unfamiliar Premeditated
situation and Planned

18. Definition of Simulation
Education simulation has three main components:
1. Students take roles that are representative of the real world and
involve them making decisions in response to their assessment of
the situation that they have been placed in.
2. Students experience simulated consequences which relate to their
decisions and their general performance in the simulation
3. Students monitor the results of their actions and are encouraged
to reflect upon the relationship between their own decisions and
the resulting consequences of their actions.
Other aspects
- Involve the use of social skills, which are directly relevant to the
world outside of the classroom.
- Deal with situations that change and therefore demand flexibility
in thinking
- Problem based and help in the development of long-term learning

19. Objective as a teacher
The creator of the simulation is to help the
students to understand the situation of
that person (or group of persons). It helps
students to develop a sense of empathy.

20. Types of Simulation
Video games
• Students are often already familiar with these interfaces and
the “language” of interacting with and utilizing them.
• creating authentic learning experiences is perhaps the
most critical aspect and benefit to digital games and
simulations—bridging the all-too-well-known gap between
the classroom and the real world.
• Games and simulations have been a key component of
training doctors and military personnel
• Researchers have found that games improve skills in
communication and collaboration, problem-solving, and
various number-related skills (McFarlane, Sparrowhawk, &
Heald, 2002).

21. Although analogous to digital games and often
included in the gaming spectrum, simulations
are “analog[ies] of a real world situation[s]”
(Prensky, 2001, p. 128), as they recreate a
modeled or modified version of a real world
situation.
One essential aspect that separates digital
games from simulations is the lack of game
dynamics or the “win state” that exists in
digital games.

22. CROSS-COUNTRY CANADA, integrated into the Elementary Schools in early 1990s.

23. Links
WWW.EDUCATIONARCADE.ORG
http://kids.discovery.com/games/just-for-
fun/mummy-maker

24. Types of Simulation
In-class enactments
Trenches
http://davidwb3.tripod.com/3_23_stuff/simulations.
htm
http://hillcresthornets.org/_beats/on_the_hill/wp-
content/uploads/2009/12/schaffitzelclass.jpg
Dance
Recipes / Potlack
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/handsonhistory/ww2.s
html

25. Simulation Activity
Deportation

26. What is the difference?
Role Playing Simulation
Specific; each student has a General, group situation
representative roles
Pre-meditated ; teacher-driven (or
Spontaneous , student-driven computer driven)
The action has a “past”; events have The events could have happened or can
happened already be hypothetical
The focus is on what will happen Mimic real life; relatable and relevant
“This is the problem; how shall would “This is the situation, what will/can we
“this role” solve it/how was it solved?” do?” = reflective

27. Why is Role Play and Simulation
important in the classroom?
• Recreates dramatic quality of situation of historical
setting
• Teaches empathy to different cultural perspectives
(social conscience)
• Can sensitize students (poor losers)
• Simulates authentic language experiences
• Provides a memorable learning experience
• Adaptable for multiple learning levels and learning
styles
• Promotes self-esteem and builds confidence
• Student-driven; active learning

28. Adversarial Roles
• Role play is an effective strategy used in teaching
conflict resolution
• If emotions are running high over a conflict or
controversial issue, teacher can select simple
conflicts and get them to each take on a role
• Example, European contact with Natives
• This helps students appreciate the complexity of
a controversial issue.
• Instead of taking on one role, students can
assume many different roles related to the same
issue, which allows students to gain different
perspectives

29. What skills do they promote?
• Combines cognitive and affective domains of
learning (feel and think)
• Oral and written communication; performance
skills
• Decision-making
• Provides students with open-ended opportunities
to analyse a problem or controversial situation
• Thinking critically about an unfamiliar topic
• Spontaneity

30. What must teachers do before
implementing role play or simulation
into the classroom?

31. Preparing for Simulation and
Role Play
• You have to build a safe community
• Modelling
• Have realistic goals (this isn’t drama class!)
• Use realistic situations and scenarios
(historical inaccuracies)
• Provide visual aids (props, costumes, etc)

32. Downfalls
• Imposition of thought and subjectivity
• Complexities and subtleties overlooked
• May promote stereotypes
• May not cater to all levels of maturity
• Students may retain inaccurate information
• Time consuming
• Access to props
• Space

33. “Dramatic activities provide some of the
richest and most memorable experiences
(students) have in their struggle with a
second language”
– Celce-Murcia

34. Assessment
Assessment for learning
- This is a memorable experience that will benefit
the student’s learning, therefore does not
necessarily require evaluation
Assessment of learning
- Historical relevance (research), Enthusiasm and
effort in your assigned role, accomplishments
with simulation
Assessment as learning
- Self-reflection

35. Assessment as learning; self-evaluation
During the meetings, I acted in role Evidence to support my
Almost never evaluation.
About half the time
All of the time
During the meetings, I contributed my ideas... Evidence to support my
Almost never evaluation.
A few times
Whenever appropriate
During the meetings, I supported other peoples Evidence to support my
ideas... evaluation.
Almost never
A few times
Whenever appropriate
During the meetings, I work to find a win-win Evidence to support my
solution... evaluation.
Not at all
Made an effort
Worked very hard

36. Questions?

37. Role Play/Simulation Activity
Build-your-own

38. The End