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Conclusion
This course paper describes role playing, a teaching practice designed to improve the learning atmosphere in the class. All people relate with one another and their environment in systematic and patterned ways. An examination of these patterns of interaction, or roles, constitutes the major task of role playing. The theory of role behavior and role playing was presented with several practical examples and case studies of classroom use. Role playing can be used in the classroom in many ways. It can be used to increase the efficiency of academic learning through the portrayal of current events or historical circumstances, or through the dramatization of plays or novels. Role playing can also be used to teach about human relations or to diagnose and treat classroom problems in interpersonal and group relations. The drama presents students and teacher with a specimen of human behavior that students can study and use to learn about, and practice, effective interpersonal relations. Teachers can use this specimen to gain information about, and plan change for, the existing social situation in their classroom. An essential characteristic of the drama is its unstructured nature. The drama is not like a formal play, with full script, structured plot, and planned actions. The unique character of role playing lies in its very reliance upon the participants for action. The actors are presented with the broad outlines of a plot and some role relations. It is up to the actors to place themselves in these character roles and to act out a story spontaneously. The drama is like a real-life experience in the degree to which the actors are involved in their roles. Moreover, each person has a different 61 Role-Playing Methods in the Classroom style and creates his own alternatives in the relatively unstructured role. A unique advantage of role playing is that it affords students an opportunity to practice new behaviors, thus decreasing the gap between "thinking" and ·~doing." The raw material for doing comes from the actor's own imagination, the suggestions of his peers in the audience, or the prompting of the teacher-director. Regardless of the source, the student in the drama is being someone else and can safely experiment with new and different ways of meeting pervasive problems and conflicts in social relations. The enriching of academic material with this involving and provocative classroom technique can greatly improve students' interest in, attention to, and learning of curricular work. It is clear that the teacher, both as curriculum organizer and dramatic director, plays an important role in the eventual success of this learning experience. To be successful, the teacher must be both willing and skillful in his approach to role playing. A three-stage, nine-step procedure for role playing in the classroom was suggested. The teacher initiates this process by preparing and instructing his class. Preparation includes diagnosing classroom needs sufficiently to select a dramatic situation with potential for learning. Students must be introduced to role playing through warm-ups, and must understand both the general situation and the particular roles they may play, either as actors or observers. The second stage, dramatic action and discussion, includes the actual performance and class discussion of the action and its implications for learning. The third stage, evaluation, is an essential component of any teaching-learning experience. Objective evaluation can either precede or follow more refined reenactments of the drama. The crucial process here is one of generalizing from this experience to other feelings and situations from which students can learn and practice new knowledge and new behaviors. Several means of developing teacher skill for role playing were suggested: reading descriptive materials, gradual introduction into the classroom, eliciting feedback from students, practice with adults, and consultation with colleagues and resource persons. One of the ways to involve other teachers in classroom innovations such as role playing is to ask their advice and aid in preparation. Further, colleagues can be enlisted as classroom observers and may offer helpful suggestions. In conclusion, the reader is referred to the Appendix and Annotated Bibliography. The bibliography suggests several readings that might be useful to teachers who wish to familiarize themselves with previously published theory, research, and classroom reports. The Appendix lists over one hundred different ideas and situations that may be used in the classroom. Warm-ups, two-man situations, group situations, and problem stories are included in this listing. These situations can be used as they are 62 presented, or they can be modified for use in a particular classroom. Creative attention to, and modification of, the ideas presented in the Appendix will provide the classroom teacher with a vast body of resources. Careful attention to, and diagnosis of, the classroom situation will provide the teacher with various amdemic and interpersonal problem situations that can be dramatized and studied to advantage. Step-by-step progress through the various stages of the role-play sequence-from planning through evaluation-should provide the teacher and students with an educative experience in the portrayal, study, and practice of new and effective styles of social behavior.
This activity gives learners at an intermediate level and above the opportunity to use interactional language in a role-play situation.
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