ROLE PLAY IN EDUCATION,,,,NURSESOUTLOOK

ROLE PLAY

               Role playing is a simulated experience where participants enact interpersonal problems typical of real life situations. Actors “Play” the role without script and in the end the enactment is analysed by the role-players and observers.

Uses:

• Develop skill in leadership interviewing and social interaction. E.g.:- learning how to put another at ears, how to listen, how to lead a discussion.
• Develop sensitivity to apotheosis feeling by having the opportunity to put oneself in another place, by nothing that there is a difference between what a person says and what person does.
• Develop skill in group problem solving E.g.:- The group works as a whole to develop the problem of concern to the group, to develop the situation, to identify critical issues and to come to some mutual agreement
• Develop ability to observe and analyses situation. E.g.:- Discussion following role play provides the opportunity to identify critical issues, to suggest alternatives for dealing with a situation.
• Practice selected behaviours in a real life situation without the stress of a mistake. A person is more apt to permit true feelings to be expressed when it is safe to do so.

Help To Teacher:

               It provides opportunity to the teacher to,

• Note individual student needs by observing and analysing her needs in a simulated real life situation
• Assist the student in meeting her own needs by either giving her on encouraging group members to give her on the spot suggestions.
• Encourage independent thinking and action by stepping aside or giving indirect guidance.

Steps of Role Playing:

               The Shaftles suggest that the role playing activity consists of eight steps:-

• Warm up the group
• Select participants
• Set the stage
• Prepare observers
• Enact
• Discuss and evaluate
• Re enact
• Share experiences and generalize.

Each step has a specific purpose and its contributes to learning activity:

PHASE 1: WARM UP THE GROUP:-

               It involves introducing students to a problem so that they recognize it as an area everyone needs to learn to deal with.

• The teacher sensitizes the group to a problem and creates a climate of acceptance so that students feel that all views, feelings and behaviors can be explored without retribution
• The second part of warm up is to express the problem with examples.
• The last part of the warm up as to ask questions that make the children thin about and predict the outcome of the story.

PHASE 2: SELECT PARTICIPANTS:

               The children and he teacher describe the various characters what they are like, how they feel and what they might do? The children are then asked to volunteer to role play. They may even be asked to play a particular role.

PHASE 3: SET THE STAGE:

               The role players outline the  scene but do not prepare any specific dialogue. They simply sketch the setting and perhaps one person’s line o action. The teacher may help set the stage by asking the students few simple questions about where the enactment is taking place, what it is like? Etc.

PHASE 4: PREPARE THE OBSERVERS

               It is important that the observers become actively involved so that the entire group experiences the enactment and can later analyse the play. The shaftles suggest that the teacher involve the observers in the role play assigning then tasks such as evaluating the realism oF the role playing, commenting on the effectiveness and the sequence of the role players behaviour and defining the feelings and ways of thinking of the person being portrayed.

PHASE 5: ENACT:

               The players assume the roles and “Live” the situation spontaneously responding realistically to one another. The role playing is not expected to be a smooth dramatization, nor is it expected that each role player will always know how to respond.

PHASE 6: DISCUSS AND EVALUATE:

               If the problem is an important one and the participants and the observers re intellectually and emotionally involved then the discussion Will begin spontaneously and on disagreements over how the roles should have been carried out. To prepare the next step the teacher should focuses the discussion on these aspects.

PHASE 7: RE-ENACT:

               The re-enactment may take place many times. The students and the teacher can share new interpretations of roles and decide whether new individuals should play them. The activity alternates between discussion and action. As much as possible new enactment should explore new possibilities for causes and effects.

PHASE 8: SHARE EXPERIENCES AND GENERALIZES:

               It could not be expected result in generalization about the human relations aspect of the situation. Such generalizations require much experience the teacher should attempt to share the discussion with so that the children perhaps after long experience with the role playing strategy begin to generalize about approaches to problem situations and the consequences of those approaches.

Advantages:

• Student become aware of feeling of others.
• It helps the student to get out insight in to the behavior pattern and its adjustments, by putting oneself in another’s place.
• Help to express these feelings.
• Develop skill in leadership interviewing and social interpretation etc.
• Develop ability to observe and  analyze the situations.
• Develop skill in problem solving

Limitations:

• Self-conscious students may not be conscious in acting.
• Time consuming method. Required more time to prepare.
• If  it is not realistic then will be a work of time.

Conclusion:

               Role playing is an independent method of teaching. At depends on the spontaneity of the participants. Too little or too much will detract from its impact.