Benefits of Role Playing

Role Playing

Role play exercises give students the opportunity to assume the role of a person
or act out a given situation. These roles can be performed by individual students,
in pairs, or in groups which can play out a more complex scenario. Role plays
engage students in real-life situations or scenarios that can be “stressful,
unfamiliar, complex, or controversial” which requires them to examine personal
feelings toward others and their circumstances (Bonwell & Eison, 1991, p.47).
Role plays can be
effectively used in the Unlike simulations and games which often are planned, structured activities and
classroom to provide real- can last over a long period of time, role play exercises “are usually short,
world scenarios to help spontaneous presentations” but also can be prearranged research assignments
students learn. (Bonwell & Eison, 1991, p.47).

Benefits of Role Playing

Role playing can be effectively used in the classroom to:
 Motivate and engage students
 Enhance current teaching strategies
 Provide real-world scenarios to help students learn
 Learn skills used in real-world situations (negotiation, debate, teamwork,
cooperation, persuasion)
 Provide opportunities for critical observation of peers
Guidelines in Developing Role Playing Exercises

Using a set of guidelines can be helpful in planning role playing exercise.
Harbour and Connick (2005) offer the following:
 If you plan to use role playing as a graded exercise, introduce small, non-
graded role plays early in and during the semester to help students prepare
for a larger role play which will be assessed.
 Determine how the role play will be assessed: will observers be given an
assessment rubric? Will observers’ remarks and scores be shared with the
By means of guidance role players? Will the observers’ scores be included with the instructor’s
from clearly developed scores? Will the role players be given the opportunity to revise and present
objectives and the role play again? Will observers be taught how to properly assess the
instructions, role plays performance (include meaningful feedback that is not purely judgmental but
can help students gain rather justify all remarks that are practical and unbiased)?
knowledge and skills from  Instruct students that the purpose of the role play is to communicate a
a variety of learning message about the topic and not focus as much on the actual person acting
situations. the role.
 Tie role plays to learning objectives so students see their relevance to course
content.
 Allow time for students to practice the role play, even if it is spontaneous, so
they will be able to think deeply about the role and present it in a
meaningful way.
 Reduce large chunks of content into smaller sections which can be more
effectively presented as a role play.
Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center

[email protected], http://facdev.niu.edu, 815.753.0595
ROLE PLAYING Page | 2
 When assigning a role play, explain its purpose and answer questions so
students are able to properly prepare the exercise. Provide guidelines about
content to include: general presentation behavior (eye contact, gestures,
voice projection); use of props; and specific language to be used (content-
related vocabulary) and language not to be used (profanity, slang).
 Challenge all students equally when assigning role plays so everyone will be
assessed on equal ground.
Examples of Role Play Exercises

Students can gain additional (and alternative) meaning from the context of role
playing than from non-context specific book learning and lectures. By means of
guidance from clearly developed objectives and instructions, role plays can help
students gain knowledge and skills from a variety of learning situations:
1. Interview practice—In preparation for career interviews, students can

assume the role of the interviewer and/or the interviewee.
2. Marketing—In preparation for a class presentation, students can assume
the position of a sales representative and sell a product.
3. Retailing—To help prepare students for a guest speaker in
merchandising course, students can play the role of sales manager and
sales representative to gain better insight on the responsibilities of these
positions.
4. Counseling—In preparing for clinical practice, students can role play a
Role plays provide family therapist whose client has revealed she has committed a criminal
act.
students with the
5. Teaching—In preparation for a job fair, students can role play the
opportunity to take part in teacher and the student, or the administrator and the student, or the
activities which mirror teacher and a parent.
career-related scenarios. 6. Debates—As a spontaneous exercise, the instructor has students briefly
prepare arguments for and arguments against positions on a topic such as
Logging in the Northwest and the Spotted Owl, Arab-Israeli Conflict or
Airline Flight Departure Delays.
Summary
Role plays provide students with the opportunity to take part in activities which
mirror career-related scenarios. To help students understand the use of role
playing sessions, role plays should be content-focused, match learning objectives,
and be relevant to real-world situations. Role playing exercises encourage
students to think more critically about complex and controversial subjects and to
see situations from a different perspective. When properly employed, role plays
can motivate students in a fun and engaging way.
References
Bonwell, C. C., & Eison, J. A. (1991). Active learning: Creating excitement in
the classroom. Washington, DC: The George Washington University.
Harbour, E., & Connick, J. (2005). Role playing games and activities rules and
tips. http://www.businessballs.com/roleplayinggames.htm

Lebaron, J., & Miller, D. (2005). The potential of jigsaw role playing to promote
the social construction of knowledge in an online graduate education
course. http://paws.wcu.edu/jlebaron/Jigsaw-FnlTCRpdf_050812.pdf

Selected Resources
Bolton, G., & Heathcote, D. (1999). So you want to use role-play? A new
approach in how to plan. London, England: Trentham Books.
Penn State University (2007). Role-play exercises. Retrieved from

http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/pdf/alex/role_play.pdf


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Role Playing

Benefits of Role Playing

Guidelines in Developing Role Playing Exercises

Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center

Examples of Role Play Exercises

1. Interview practice—In preparation for career interviews, students can

Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center

Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center

Penn State University (2007). Role-play exercises. Retrieved from

Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center

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