Role-Playing Method
Role playing has been used effectively by many teachers to help solve classroom
interpersonal problems and to teach human-relations skills in the classroom. Role
playing also has been used to facilitate subject-matter learning through the
dramatization of literary and historical works and historical or current events. In
all these uses, role playing provides the student with a dramatic confrontation and
clarification of (1) his relations with others, (2) his information about and
expectations of society, (3) his evaluation of himself and his life style, and (4) the
ways in which academic material may be relevant to his daily tasks.
Role-play is a valuable teaching and training tool that delivers immense amount of
imprinted learning. This learning is retained and recalled better through the role-
play experience. While it is evolving as a very effective, interactive teaching and
training tool, many feel unprepared and uncomfortable about participating, or
using role-play in routine teaching and training.
Basically, role playing calls for a student's stepping outside the accustomed role
that he plays in life, relinquishing his usual patterns of behavior in exchange for
the role and patterns of another person. This other role may be that of a real
person or may be entirely fictitious. Role playing has a tremendous potential for
the average elementary and secondary school classroom. Students can examine
and discuss relatively private issues and problems without anxiety. These
problems are not focused on the self; they are attributed to a given role or
stereotype. Thus children can avoid the normal anxiety accompanying the
presentation of personal matters that may violate rules and regulations. This
experience may result in greater individual insights into behavior and a better
understanding of the place of rules and behavioral standards. Such learning can
best be accomplished in a non-judgmental situation where "correct" solutions are
not the goal.
Role playing may also be used to demonstrate less personal but pervasive
problems between and among people and groups. Social problems, to the extent
that they reflect conflict between man and man, can be dramatized fruitfully in the
classroom. For instance, classroom portrayals of problems of prejudice may lead
to greater understanding of the dynamics of this phenomenon and some
clarification of ways of dealing with its occurrence. Such understanding need not
be purely abstract, on the theoretical or moralistic level; it can include the
alternative behaviors that are available when one is a witness to an act or feeling
of racial, religious, or economic bias. Further, small-scale examples of political
events, instances of political decision making, or dilemmas facing criminals and
courts of law can be examined in the classroom. These portrayals may help make
the student aware of selected social problems and the human meaning for those
involved. They may help him to examine thoughtfully different ways of resolving
social and personal conflict and to identify the advantages and disadvantages of
each path. The exercises may not reduce conflict, but they may give the student
skills to deal with his world more effectively. He may come to see the ways in
which some of these universal social issues are reflected in his own relations with
other individuals and groups and how they bear upon the decisions he must make
in his own life.
Principal Responsibilities of the Instructor
Role playing in the classroom works best when there is an attempt to follow a
definite sequence of steps. The sequence outlined below allows for a logical
ordering and development of the role-playing session. It has been tested
successfully by teachers.
1. Preparation and instruction, the first stage, covers problem selection, warm-
up, and general and specific instructions to participants and audience. It involves
the selection by the teacher, with or without class help, of an issue or problem to
be worked on. After selecting the problem, the teacher needs to warm up, or relax
the students and give them practice and security in public performance and
expression. The explanation of the general problem situation should make clear
the educational purposes of the drama and the relevance of the issue or problem
for the entire class. The teacher is now ready to brief the actors, to explain in
detail the exact role each of them will play. The final step in this stage is to
delineate the roles of the audience, the students who are not acting out the
dramatic roles. These students can observe the general interaction of actors, or
they can be charged to watch for specific actors or for specific events.
2. Dramatic action and discussion, the second major stage, covers both the role
playing itself and the subsequent discussion and interpretation of the action.
Sufficient time should be allowed during the improvisation for students to become
thoroughly immersed in the problem situation, so that they can take full advantage
of the situation's promise for discovering and practicing alternative ways of
acting. At the conclusion of the drama it is important to bring the class back to
everyday reality, to dissociate the actors clearly from the role they played. This is
important so that critics and other students can concentrate on the role behavior
and not on the actions or person of the actors. The post-role-playing discussion
may take several forms and involve several different students or groups of
students. The role players or the audience, or both, may contribute to an analysis
of the dramatic session. A final important focus of this learning experience should
be the student's ability to apply the examples and lessons of this new role behavior
to his own interpersonal experiences.
3. Evaluation, the final stage, must follow the enactment and discussion of the
role-playing situation. In this stage the teacher and pupils review the successes
and failures of their role-playing experience. The purposes, procedures, and
effects of such a learning experience should be analyzed so that teacher and class
can make decisions about the need for additional role playing or reenactment of
the scene. The teacher will certainly want to make a further personal evaluation of
the experience in the light of his original diagnosis and goals; he will want to
consider what verbal and behavioral evidence there is to show that the students
have learned from the experience.
Why role-play?
Constructing meaning in a learner is a far better way to make learning memorable
than simple transmission. In children the excitement of the role play, the
interaction and stimulation to visual, auditory and kinaesthetic styles of learning
helps a broad range of learners.
In adults the tool respects their prior knowledge, experience and the reality they
bring to a concept. It helps to make the concept being taught to be constructed and
then reflected on.
It helps to move beyond any comfort zones and helps bring on attitudinal change
through different viewpoints too. It helps to develop all domains of learning,
cognitive (knowledge) , psychomotor (skills) and affective ( emotional)
It’s also a lot of fun (trust me) and helps shake off those lecture room cobwebs .
There is plenty of evidence that confirms the retention from participation is far
higher than any other modes of learning.
How does role-play work?
The choice of the role-play relies on the learning agenda and has to have clear
aims and objectives. There are various ways role-play can work.
a) Observation : learning through observation and reflection happens when a
group of learners watch a specifically constructed role-play using actors,
simulators or even played by the tutors.
b) Modelling: Helps to learn a concept or an idea through participation. For
example children can learn about history and historical figures by acting out
scenes. While adults can participate in a constructed scenario- like an angry
customer, worried patients etc.
c) Contemplation: It helps to stimulate analysis through exploring complex
concepts and debating issues- usually ethical problems where there is no clear
right or wrong.
d) Skills development: The participant can practice and develop skills such as
breaking bad news, calming down an angry client, negotiating with customers etc.
e)Self-reflection: through participating in role-play the learners are bring many of
their hidden attitudes to the surface and it helps them understand their own
prejudices biases and assumptions. It helps to see the world through the other
persons eyes and understand methods of communicating.
f) Re-enaction: By re-enacting a past experience it helps to bring recall, catharsis
and also helps to identify creative solutions to a problem that could have
previously difficult due to emotional distress.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages of Role-Play Disadvantages
Participants may be too shy and
Energising activity / fun to do
reluctant
Allows participants to contribute actively
Can be threatening to some
(even the quieter ones)
It can become ‘too much fun’ and
It is Time efficient
disrupt the task
Experiential learning is more powerful Participants can get too involved and
than instructions. loose objectivity
Participants can overact and show off
It delivers complex concepts in a simple
The observers may not observe well or
manner
take notes
Needs little preparation for the
The observers may take ‘sides’ based
teacher/facilitator (unless you want to print
on their preconceptions
out role descriptors)
From Role Playing Methods in the Classroom by M. Chester and R. Fox,
copyright 1966, Science Research Associates, Inc. Reproduced by permission of
the publisher.
B. Tanggung Jawab Kepala Instruktur
Peran bermain di kelas bekerja terbaik ketika ada upaya untuk mengikuti urutan
tertentu langkah. Urutan diuraikan di bawah ini memungkinkan untuk urutan logis
dan pengembangan sesi bermain peran. Ini telah diuji dengan sukses oleh guru.
1. Persiapan dan instruksi, tahap pertama, meliputi pemilihan masalah,
pemanasan, dan umum dan instruksi khusus untuk peserta dan penonton. Ini
melibatkan pemilihan oleh guru, dengan atau tanpa bantuan kelas, dari sebuah isu
atau masalah yang akan bekerja pada. Setelah memilih masalah, guru perlu untuk
pemanasan, atau bersantai para siswa dan memberi mereka praktek dan keamanan
di kinerja publik dan ekspresi. Penjelasan dari situasi masalah umum harus
membuat jelas tujuan pendidikan dari drama dan relevansi isu atau masalah bagi
seluruh kelas. Guru sekarang siap untuk memberi penjelasan kepada pelaku, untuk
menjelaskan secara rinci peran yang tepat masing-masing akan bermain. Langkah
terakhir dalam tahap ini adalah untuk menggambarkan peran dari para penonton,
para siswa yang tidak bertindak keluar peran yang dramatis. Siswa-siswa dapat
mengamati interaksi umum aktor, atau mereka dapat dikenakan untuk menonton
aktor tertentu atau untuk acara-acara tertentu.
2. Tindakan dramatis dan diskusi, tahap besar kedua, meliputi baik peran bermain
sendiri dan diskusi berikutnya dan interpretasi tindakan. Waktu yang cukup harus
dibiarkan selama improvisasi bagi siswa untuk menjadi benar-benar tenggelam
dalam situasi masalah, sehingga mereka dapat mengambil keuntungan penuh dari
janji situasi untuk menemukan dan mempraktekkan cara-cara alternatif bertindak.
Pada akhir drama itu penting untuk membawa kembali kelas dengan realitas
sehari-hari, untuk memisahkan para aktor jelas dari peran yang mereka mainkan.
Hal ini penting agar para kritikus dan mahasiswa lainnya dapat berkonsentrasi
pada perilaku peran dan bukan pada tindakan atau orang dari para aktor.
Pembahasan pasca-role-playing dapat mengambil beberapa bentuk dan melibatkan
siswa berbeda atau kelompok siswa. Peran pemain atau penonton, atau keduanya,
dapat menyebabkan analisis sesi dramatis. Sebuah fokus penting akhir dari
pengalaman belajar harus kemampuan siswa untuk menerapkan contoh dan
pelajaran dari perilaku peran baru dengan pengalaman sendiri interpersonal.
3. Evaluasi, tahap akhir, harus mengikuti pemberlakuan dan diskusi tentang
situasi bermain peran. Pada tahap ini guru dan murid meninjau keberhasilan dan
kegagalan dari role-playing pengalaman mereka. Tujuan, prosedur, dan efek
seperti pengalaman belajar yang harus dianalisis sehingga guru dan kelas dapat
membuat keputusan tentang perlunya untuk bermain peran tambahan atau
pemeragaan TKP. Guru pasti akan ingin membuat evaluasi pribadi lebih dari
pengalaman dalam terang diagnosis aslinya dan tujuan, ia akan ingin untuk
mempertimbangkan apa bukti verbal dan perilaku yang ada untuk menunjukkan
bahwa siswa telah belajar dari pengalaman.
Berenergi aktivitas / menyenangkan untuk dilakukan Peserta mungkin terlalu
malu dan enggan
Memungkinkan peserta untuk berkontribusi secara aktif (bahkan yang lebih
tenang) Dapat mengancam beberapa
Ini adalah waktu yang efisien Hal ini dapat menjadi 'terlalu menyenangkan' dan
mengganggu tugas
Pengalaman belajar yang lebih kuat daripada petunjuk. Peserta bisa
mendapatkan objektivitas terlalu terlibat dan longgar
Ini memberikan konsep kompleks dalam Peserta secara sederhana dapat
bermain berlebih-lebihan dan memamerkan The pengamat tidak dapat
mengamati dengan baik atau mengambil catatan
Kebutuhan sedikit persiapan untuk guru / fasilitator (kecuali jika Anda ingin
mencetak deskriptor peran) The pengamat dapat mengambil 'sisi' berdasarkan
prasangka mereka
