According to Resnick and Wilensky (1998)1 , while role-playing activities have been commonly used in social studies classrooms, they have been infrequently used in science and mathematics classrooms.
- Speculate on why role playing activities may not be promoted in math and science and elaborate on your opinion on whether activities such as role playing should be promoted.
In my opinion I think that role playing activities are often overlooked not only in math and science classrooms, but in all subject areas. For some teachers, these types of activities come naturally for them, but for others it is a real struggle to find the courage to “role play” with their students. I also think that some teachers believe that they do not have the time to integrate role playing activities into their classroom. Allowing all students to participate in role playing activities can take some time, but teachers need to remember that for many students, this is the way they learn best. Kinaesthetic learners thrive in an environment that allows them to get up and move (while learning). With role playing can also come a bit more of a chaotic looking classroom and many teachers prefer structure. This can be a real struggle for some teachers as they have to relinquish some of the control over to the students (in my opinion this is when some of the best learning takes place). Role playing gets the students actively involved in their learning.
I believe that role playing activities fit well in the science classroom and should be encouraged, but I struggle to come up with ideas for the math classroom. Does anyone have any great math examples?
In my grade two class when learning about “matter,” I would have the students move around the gym as either a solid, liquid or gas (we would change the state of matter frequently and the students loved calling out the next state) to show the speed and proximity to the other particles. This is a very basic example of role play, but it did get the students up and moving!
If you’re still not convinced about the benefits of role-playing in math and science classrooms, check out this video about a grade 6 role playing activity about how the body works.