LAMS Sequence: Simple Role Play-InteractiveWhiteboards_16072010_1
By: Leanne Cameron License: 
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In a role play, each student takes on a role in a given scenario and plays out their role while interacting with other students.
Role plays can be particularly effective at helping students to see an issue or a situation through the eyes of another person. Students interact with others in different roles, and try to present their views from the perspective of their own role, even if this role would have different views to their own personal views.
Role plays often have four main sections:
Overview of role play topic and structure of activities
Pre-role play reflection - students are allocated to roles, and reflect on their role, including private discussion with others in the same role
Role play proper - the main scenario of the role play where all roles come together to discuss their views
Post role play reflection - where students step back from their own role, and reflect more generally on what they have learned
Role plays can be run in real-time in a computer lab over 30-90 minutes, or alternatively can be run in a distance mode online where each stage may take 1-2 weeks. Regardless of the delivery mode, students need enough time to discuss their ideas at length and interact with each other - not simply state their starting opinion and leave it at that.
Listed below is a complete example of a basic role play with two roles (pro and con) about introducing Interactive Whiteboards at a typical school. Below this is a generic version of the basic "two role" (pro and con) structure where you fill in your own scenario. The final link goes to a variety of other types of role plays.