It is well documented that role play in the classroom is an excellent teaching strategy. Role play is defined as ‘a learning technique where students act out real-life or hypothetical scenarios, taking on different roles and interacting with others to develop skills and understanding. It's a hands-on way to explore complex situations, practice communication, and develop empathy.’ While working with youngsters it is clear to see just how important this method is in enabling young people to feel confident and empowered when dealing with difficult situations.
In addition, when you add forum theatre into the mix (when the audience can change the outcome by offering advice or stepping into the character) pupils can experiment with ideas in a safe environment thus improving confidence, tenacity and vocabulary.
Take pupil A, for example, a year 5 pupil in one of our schools where we are looking at methods of resisting peer pressure. We asked the children to role play one of the characters from our storyline, resisting pressure from his ‘friend’ to ask a girl for a ‘selfie’. Pupil A bravely volunteered to role play with another pupil in front of the class. At first he was unsure of how he could resist the peer pressure. He was hesitant and did not have the vocabulary to resist. His head was lowered and he was allowing the other pupil to take control.
However, once the rest of the class started giving him advice on what he could say, he experimented with different responses. His voice became stronger and he maintained eye contact with the other pupil. Each time he responded he became more assertive and spoke with conviction. When he finally chose to respond by saying. ‘I don’t agree with what you are asking me to do so I’m going to walk away!’ The class gave a spontaneous round of applause! This serves as a great example of how the drama methods employed by the Ariel Trust work during our programme delivery.
Anita Grace
