What is the project designed to achieve?
This project is building a community of university teachers who are using online role play. We have developed a repository of sharable/reusable role play learning designs and are working towards an associated peer review process. The two year project (2006-2009) doubled the number of role play designers by scaffolding beginners and establishing national and international role play partnerships. Initially an Australia-focussed initiative, we are continuing our search for more role plays and role play designers, now world-wide.
Definition
This project covers educational role plays in Australian universities designed to increase understanding of real life human interaction and dynamics.
- participants assume a role in someone else's shoes or in someone else's situation
- to do authentic tasks in an authentic context
- involving substantial in-role human interaction such as collaboration, negotiation, debate
- interaction between roles is substantially in an online environment
- learning outcomes are assessable and generate opportunities for student reflection
The project continued to refine the definition and decided to broaden it as shown in our Simulation Triad.
