Instructional Strategy: Role Play, Games and Simulations

1. Instructional Strategy: Role Play, Games and Simulations Kendra, Jillian and JoshNovember 1, 2012

2. Explanation • When students play an active role in the learning process and are responsible for their actions, they acquire greater knowledge of the decision-making process and the rules that govern it. • Students are active, involved and reflective in a dynamic way. • By having an opportunity to experience and ‘feel’ a situation or event, students have a great insight and understanding.

3. Features • Highly motivational • Allows students to apply what they learn in various ways • Increase confidence • Facilitate communication/connections • Allows for independence • Encourages techniques of cooperation, not competition • Allows teacher to work with a wide range of student capabilities • Changes the social condition under which learning takes place

4. Advantages • Motivating and enjoyable activity for students • Promotes critical thinking • Hands on learning • Collaboration with classmates • Social skills are broadened

5. Disadvantages • Students could get off task more often • Preparation time takes longer for teacher and students • Assessment is harder for teachers in these situations compared to formal learning activities

6. Steps to Implementation • Prior to using this teaching strategy a teacher much first decide how long this simulation/ role play will take and plan from there. • Some cases may take one lesson where as others may take up to a couple of weeks. The teacher must decide how many participants are needed, if a few students are needed for an example or if students will be broken off into small groups. • Students must know procedures and expectations clearly prior to participating. • The teacher must know what they want to accomplish from using simulations/ role-play as opposed to using other teaching strategies.

7. Assessing Student Learning • assess student learning on an individual’s emotional involvement within the key factors of the key factors of the situation • student’s ability to: • identify and portray the concept • demonstrate understanding of the concept or processes under study through their actions and words • search for options • workout possible consequences

8. Examples • Games • Monopoly • opportunity to add, subtract, and plan • Chess and Othello • provide insight into cause and effect • Role Play • high degree of student physical mobility • encourages students to communicate • injects feelings of realism and relevance • Simulation • promote a positive relationship between teacher and students • change the social conditions which learning takes place • allow for some testing of roles by students