Using Role-Play in Online Discussions
Overview
Students participate in a role-play discussion, which gives them an opportunity to go beyond the usual post-and-reply online discussion format.
Why Use This?
Using role-play in discussions is a great way to expand student learning and perspectives on the given topic or content. These types of discussions can also bring about a more inclusive and diverse environment within a course. Once a student posts to the discussion, they are able to read posts from the other roles and broaden their viewpoints.
How Does It Work?
In a role-play discussion, students are assigned roles and given a prompt. They are then asked to post from the perspective of their role. The instructions clearly explain how the roles are assigned and how to participate in the discussion. In this discussion, students are assigned a given role based on the first letter of their last name. They then conduct research based on their assigned role and summarize what they learn from their role’s viewpoint. It is recommended that students label their role in their post headline.
Instructions: Based on the first letter of your last name, consider organ donation from the role assigned to you below:
Donor: A – E
Recipient: F – J
Family member of donor: K – O
Family member of recipient: P – T
Doctor performing transplant: U – Z
Conduct more research on your own based upon your assigned role and summarize what you learn. Be sure to include your view of organ transplants from your role’s viewpoint.
Keep In Mind
- When grading, remember that students are playing a role and what they write may not be their own experience.