Toolbox

Inspirational activities for online workshops

Role play

Role play involves people acting out a scenario, to explore different reactions and practise skills. They could take on a specific role, that involves acting as someone else. Alternatively, they could simply participate in the scenario as if it were happening to them.

Stage 1: Running the scenario 🎭

1. Select a situation to be played out. Ask yourself what you want to explore and why.

2. Explain the situation, including the groups represented.

3. Give people a few minutes to get into their roles. Although the role play is mainly improvised, each group rehearses in a break out room for 10 minutes.

4. Start the scenario. Each group represents its own play and run it until enough issues have been uncovered, the exercise comes to a natural end or people want to stop. The play should also be stopped if a participant shows great tension or gets too involved.

Stage 2: Evaluating the scenario 💬

This gives participants and observers the chance to reflect on and learn from what has happened.

1. Start by asking the players how they felt in their roles. Ask observers for their impressions.

2. Then allow broader discussion. What have people learnt and how will they apply their insights in real life? Discourage comments that tell participants what they should have done. Compliment people for having the courage to participate regardless of how the scenario turned out. These tools are there for learning.

BePart Training: proposed scenario and roles

During the BePart training we proposed the following scenario: "Students will be in charge of managing the school’s official Instagram account. As a teacher, accompany a planning and decision making session".

And we proposed three roles with the following characteristics:

The traditional teachers

The facilitators

The observers

This group prepare a list of topics they have to observe when attending the role plays about a teacher and a facilitator in a school who supports students.