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Developing a Role playing Case Study as a Teaching Tool

Role plays and case studies are two increasingly popular tools in teaching, as the paradigm is noticeably changing from an instructor center learning environment towards a student centered, problem based approach. The combination of these two tools provide us with an easily adaptable, extremely interactive and dynamic approach, which places the students into the midst of the situation and gives them the opportunity to not only to listen and watch but also to participate. Role play: The overall aim of role playing assignments is for students to get involved in a much more direct and practical way than is the case with classic face-to-face teaching. Splitting the word into its two components we can also get a good impression about the functioning of this technique. It provides the students with personas or characters which they can use to portray a role in a fictitious setting a in to theater. It offers the chance to play these characters in a relaxed and ris -free environment, to test one!s own s ill and nowledge without any ris s involved and additionally - as with any game we play - to have fun in the process. In a role play participants will either portray someone else or they will play themselves in a specific situation. "any critics have recommended that training by doing is the best way of learning for most students and topics. Reading or listening to someone lecturing is inferior to getting involved, to experiment and to ta e an active part in the scenario, and this is what role playing is all about. #r. $llen %anger said in an interview &'ublic (roadcasting Service &'(S) *++,), -what.s interesting to me is that when people are at play, they are mindfully engaged and that.s what.s interesting. 'lay isn.t play unless the mind is there. It.s not something that you want to run away from and let your muscles /ust do it while you.re sleeping0 you want to be there because it.s fun to be there 123 so truths are context dependent. 4hen you reali5e that, that things loo different from different perspectives, then you stay tuned in because you can.t be sure what.s going on. 6nd that staying tuned in is what eeps you involved. That.s the essence of being mindful.7 This is exactly what role playing exercises are aiming at, to actively engage people, involve them in the matter and thus eep them alert and awa e, or to say it with $llen %angers words -mindful7 about what is happening in the training session. -6 role playing game is a training session where the facilitator, perhaps with an assistant or two, sets up a scenario where the participants are assigned different roles, where those roles identify with those in the situation where participants will find themselves when they underta e their wor in the field. The play gives the training participants opportunities to act out various roles chosen to represent actual roles that would be in the field situation7 &(artle 899:). In the context of intercultural communication, role playing games allow for the training of intercultural awareness and communication competence by choosing role descriptions which include different cultural heritages and by including players who come from different countries. There are three distinctive stages in a role play session; &*) the briefing, &8) the play and &<) the debriefing. In the briefing phase, the facilitator sets the stage. =e describes the scenario and the roles available. The briefing phase is also the -warm-up7 phase for all participants0 it is a time used to introduce everyone involved, to explain the specifics of the role playing technique and to clearly state the aim of the exercise. The facilitator will explain the scenario0 the degree of detail necessary strongly depends on the topic. In the intercultural context it is advisable to eep the scenario rather open and to allow for free interpretation wherever possible, as cultural differences will only show up if the participants have the feeling that they are allowed to interpret the story and the characters in their own way. >ne good option to prevent the scenario itself from being culturally biased is as ing the prospective participants for their input, especially if they li e the scenario and feel comfortable ta ing roles in it. 6lso, the scenario should be somewhat flexible allowing for minor changes in the setup and adaptations according to wishes of the players involved. Role description should include all information which the player will need to act ?in character! inside the scenario described beforehand but @ especially if the aim of the exercise is to raise cultural awareness or train interaction processes @ should leave some room for personal interpretations and ideas of the -actor7. Role descriptions which are too complex force the actors to eep too many details in mind and thus limit their flexibility and creativity. Role definitions are often defined and printed in two variants; one variant which is only nown by the actor and the facilitator and one which is handed to everyone else. This is useful to simulate the fact that in reality we often meet and must cooperate with strangers of whom we now next to nothing. 6fter the scenario is described and the roles are distributed, the participants should be allowed some time for as ing questions and chat with each other concerning the scenario and the roles. >ften the participants start to develop an interest for a specific role or culture during this phase. There are many different approaches in how to assign roles, especially in multicultural scenarios. It is much easier to portray a character of the home-culture than a foreigner, especially if the culture that should be played is un nown to the player. It can be very difficult to ta e on such a role, but by assigning such an un nown culture to a player you force himAher to rely on pre/udices and

stereotypes to portray the role, which could also be of great value. If it is the first role playing experience for most participants involved, the facilitators should allow for very free definitions of roles and see that everyone is content with or even may pic the role he or she gets. Role playing can be quite stressful to some participants, especially if they are not used to it, so good care should be ta en that everyone, not only but especially beginners, feels comfortable. 'layers should be encouraged to really -play7, to ta e nothing too seriously and also to overact their characters to ma e points very clear. 6t the end of the briefing phase, as an optional step, the actors are given some time to discuss a general outline of their play, to define some do!s and don!ts and to establish a basic idea of how their characters will react to each other. 6llowing for a few minutes before the play starts might help to overcome the usual problems of the starting phase of the role play itself. Steps of a briefing phase; a) 'resent the scenario b) 'resent the roles c) Bamiliari5ation phase d) 6ssign roles e) Storyboarding &optional) In the play phase itself the setting should again be made clear to everyone involved &players and observers), preferably through a short introduction performed by the facilitator. The stage should be prepared accordingly to enable the players to simulate the situation with as little effort as possible. This includes seating arrangements, preparation of props that might be used and any technical support that might be necessary. The characters are then either introduced by the facilitator or in game by the players themselves. The players then act their characters according to their role descriptions. It is the facilitator!s responsibility to coordinate the play and to eep the play moving forward by providing inputs and adding comments, especially if the story is starting to turn in circles, or if the play is not evolving in an interesting direction. If everything goes well heAshe can withdraw from the action, assuming the position of an observer and only intervening if necessary. =eAshe should encourage all participants to actively play their roles, especially if some players are /ust listening and watching while only one or two are actively immersed in the story. The facilitator also provides a conclusion himAherself should the story not come to a natural end. The conclusion of the play phase can be the solution of the problem, the end of the story &out of players! actions) or /ust some final words by the facilitator. Steps of a play phase; a) 'repare the stage and the props b) 'resent the scenario c) Introduce the characters d) 'lay e) Conclusion In the debriefing phase everyone involved, the players, any observers and the facilitator should be given the opportunity to present their experiences in the role playing situation to the plenum. The debriefing is moderated by the facilitator who is responsible for drawing out the ey-points in each presentation and leading the discussion process. >nly when everyone involved has had the opportunity to present hisAher own perceptions, describe how heAshe felt and has received feedbac , should the session be closed. The debriefing phase is very important and should never be omitted. In some play sessions strong emotions li e anger, dismay and disagreement come up, especially if the players ta e their roles too seriously or have identified very strongly with their character. The debriefing phase is very important to discuss the situation and prevent the players from ta ing possible animosities which evolved in the play-session out into their real life. Steps of a debriefing phase; a) 'resentations of the participants b) 'roviding feedbac to the participants

c) #iscussion of the findings


Case studies: -Case studies are stories that are used as a teaching tool to show the application of a theory or concept to real situations. #ependent on the goal they are meant to fulfill, cases can be fact-driven and deductive where there is a correct answer, or they can be context driven where multiple solutions are possible. Darious disciplines have employed case studies, including humanities, social sciences, sciences, engineering, law, business, and medicine. Eood cases generally have the following features; they tell a good story, are recent, include dialogue, create empathy with the main characters, are relevant to the reader, serve a teaching function, require a dilemma to be solved, and have generality7 &Center for teaching Danderbilt Fniversity 899G). There are

many forms of case studies which differ hugely in complexity. Case studies range from a simple short scenario and the question -4hat would you do nowH7, to complex multi-perspective studies. =ow complex a case should be depends on what you want your students to do with it. Teachers can create their own cases or ta e one of the numerous case studies which are offered as teaching material. Typically case studies are assigned as teamwor so that participants can brainstorm and develop common solutions, but they can also be used as an individual assignment. Fsually they are presented by a teacher, but it is also possible to transfer the case study method to elearning. 4hichever form a case ta es, it has three basic components &*) a real world or fictive scenario, &8) documentation and data, &<) an open-ended problem. Scenario: #ifferent approaches to develop a case include different ways of defining the scenario. Scenarios can be based on a news item, research data or some other media source ta en from the real world. These cases can either be described as they happened without changing any details and stic ing to the ob/ective approach of describing real live events, or they could be adapted and changed according to the needs of the exercise at hand in an -imagine if7 approach. There is also the option to develop a completely fictional case, either based on boo s or films or invented and developed without any real world connection. The scenario includes descriptions of the general environment, of the persons and events involved and an overview of possible consequences should the problem not be solved adequately. "ost experts recommend summari5ing the case in a narrative format a in to a short story &=erreid *+++), the aim of the case description being to engage the interest of the participants. The case material can also include any number of statistical data, reports, news items, printouts and other media. Documentation and data: The tas or aim of the exercise is stated at the beginning. The scenario, the acting persons, the problem itself and any upcoming influencing factors should be described and documented in as much detail as necessary for the completion of the tas . The amount of detail will vary from case to case but it is important to include enough information for a complete and clear picture of the case without overwhelming the students with too much data. If the case is based on a real world problem any additionally available data is prepared and supplied on demand. #ocumentation and data of case studies should always be available to all participants, a print-out wor s best. In most case descriptions data and documents are sorted according to the timeline of the case. The problem; The problem itself has to be clearly defined but then left open-ended with more than one solution. Its description should be short and concise. The scenario explains how it came into existence and how the different actors see it. The problem might be quite simple and only become complicated because of the situation, or it might in itself be a very complex, many part difficulty, which can only be overcome through a step-by-step solution. Fsing case studies as a teaching tool and preparing all the necessary materials is quite time consuming. =owever, it is also a very rewarding method, and its numerous advantages can ma e the time invested very worthwhile. Case studies explore different angles of perception, require analytical thin ing and team wor and involve the students very directly and actively in the wor ing process. This is a much more problem-based and student centered approach, and as with role playing assignments, eeps the participants interested and alert. The five Cs of role-playing "ontecino, Smith!s I Joung discussed in their article -Dirtual 4orld and Role playing7 &"ontecino, Smith et al. 899<) some common problems, ris s and pitfalls of role playing, which they dubbed the -Bive Cs7. These are Control, Controversial Topics, Command of your sub/ect, Can you help and Considered Reflection. The following recommendations have been modified to build upon their ideas, and also ta e the intercultural environment into account. Control: Bacilitators have to cope with a considerable loss of control over the situation. 6s it is never clear from the beginning how a role playing session will develop, problems might arise which will not show up in a normal classroom situation. Role plays may develop a ?life of their own!, going in a different direction than intended. 'repare intervention strategies li e pieces of additional input, or entering the play with a short role yourself, to bring the players bac in line. $ven if you do have a very well-designed scenario and you have developed a time schedule which seems to be perfect, be prepared that the playing session might be over too soon or too late. 6s above, additional input can be very helpful. 6lways count in a few extra minutes to be able to lengthen the playing time if the role play itself develops very well but its duration seems to be too short.

If, in a multicultural environment, you are not sure how to address all cross cultural issues correctly, ta e one or more students from those cultures you do not now well as assistants and discuss the role play with them beforehand. Jou might even consider including them in the playing phase itself as co-moderators.

Controversial topics: The ris of the play ta ing a bad direction or getting too heated or even aggressive is actually very small, but should still ta en into account, especially in a multicultural classroom where the facilitator himAherself might not always notice the upcoming problems or cross cultural misunderstandings. The aim of role playing sessions is to actively involve the students0 this can easily result in heated arguments or inappropriate statements, especially in a multicultural environment. 'repare the students that they will encounter situations which they might find provocative, aggressive or pre/udicial and as them to react to the situation according to their role. =ighlight that one of the aims of the exercise is to raise awareness about pre/udices, cultural differences and differences in communication patterns, which could lead to statements which are considered inappropriate. Set-up a ?safety-line! mechanism, where every player can stop playing at any time, or ta e a ?time out! to explain and discuss the issue if he is feeling too uncomfortable. #o an extensive debriefing phase, addressing all problems. Command of your subject: 6s the participants are involved in a much more direct and intimate manner than as listeners in a lecture, they will as questions which may demand much more detail than normal. If you refer to real people or real places you should be very well prepared and have a host of bac ground information available. 'articipants might also question the usefulness of a role play as a teaching method for the topic at hand. $xplain why a role play is used as a teaching tool and why it is worth the time of the participants to parta e. #efine clear learning goals. 'repare the role play thoroughly and discuss it with colleagues and prospective participants to find any design flaws before playing it the first time.

Can you help : Some students will be concerned with how their performance in the role play will be relevant for their grade. They might also turn to the facilitator for help and guidance with how to play their character and to act in role. 'eople will need a while to get into character0 they might even express discomfort at the beginning. "a e clear that their performance in the role will not be graded. "a e clear that there is not right or wrong solution. 'repare for a slow start and aw ward situations &such no one nowing what to say) in the role play. If someone does not want to participate give the person a tas , li e technical support, co-moderator or perhaps a recording cler . See that he is still actively involved, but do not force him to act out a role.

Considered reflection: 6s reflections and discussion are the most crucial factors in learning from role playing, the debriefing step is of utmost importance. 'layers should reflect on what they felt, perceived and learned during the session. Concerning cross cultural issues, it is a very good exercise to go through the ey situations that occurred during the playing session and consider what other participants would have done differently. 6ssigning the role of observer to students that are not actively parta ing can be very rewarding and add an additional component of reflective feedbac in the debriefing phase. "oderate the discussion, but to not force your opinion upon the participants. Ta e a neutral stance whenever possible and move yourself to the bac ground as much as possible. 'repare a good structure for the debriefing phase and allow for ample time. (e prepared to start with some feedbac of your own, should discussions evolve slowly.

Creating a role playing case study for cross cultural training

! role playing case is a tool that enables students and teachers to gain awareness and deeper insight into cultural differences, and to find ways towards an efficient collaboration. Classrooms worldwide are becoming increasingly multicultural. 6nd with diverse classrooms also comes diversity in the learning behavior of students, which sometimes poses serious challenges for students, faculty administrators and instructors in higher education. It is therefore important for all concerned persons to gain a better understanding of cross cultural differences. 6s an innovative, interactive approach to teach cross cultural differences, role playing cases engage participants by placing them directly in the story. The story and thus the case develop and come alive as students interact with one another. 6 role playing case is an ideal tool to analy5e the role of culture in communicating with people from other cultural bac grounds. Through play and the following discussion, students gain insight into cultural differences and recogni5e real life cultural and psychological traits, they learn to identify the ma/or cultural characteristics that influence interactions and decisions. Students benefit by acquiring a deeper understanding of the case, the people involved, the language used and the cultural perspective. 6 common extension of case studies is to assign roles to students from a certain point in the case and let them ta e over and develop the story. In a multicultural classroom, students get the opportunity to -try out7 interacting with other cultures or even find the opportunity to place themselves in the position of someone else, without the ris s of a real life situation. Role playing case studies are more focused on the characters and interactions involved in a case than in the actual solution of the case. The focus moves from analy5ing and problem solving towards interaction and discussion. The technique can be moved to an online platform, but here it looses much impact as communication is limited to the verbal components and non-verbal clues are lost. Bor role playing cases it is often necessary to define characters, organi5ations and other elements of a case which are purely fictional. 'articipants should be able to understand these characters and feel a certain empathy for them to be able to play the role. Role playing case studies offer a multitude of possibilities and can be adapted for almost any class, field of study and cultures involved. There are :steps in preparing and conducting a role playing case &*) #efinition of the Case and the Roles &8) 'reparing the Stage &<) Conducting the play &:) #ebriefing, #iscussion and Beedbac . Definition of the case and the roles. The case for a role playing study can be based on real events or be completely fictional. The case should in either way be well nown, ready made or made up before changing it to a role playing case, and it is advisable to test the case as a standard case study before role playing it. 6s a starting point the facilitator should analy5e his classroom, noting which people of which educational and cultural bac ground are involved. The central theme is provided by the case but details can easily be changed to include nationalities of the participants. The story of the case should be limited in complexity with a small number of roles involved. If the acting persons are not described in the case itself or are of limited importance, a situation &such as a meeting where the details of the case are discussed) and the according characters can easily be made up, ta ing into account the participants of the training and the cultures from which they come. The story of the case itself can either be an intercultural issue, where cultures clash over a specific topic, or include a problem that can only be solved by a multicultural team. 6lternatively the case can be about a relatively easy and common problem, /ust providing a framewor for the play itself, while the true focus are the characters and the cross cultural communication issues arising during play. The case should cover a topic where in which the students can act with a certain ease, without having to improvise all the time because they have little idea concerning the field. The easiest way is to provide students with cases coming from a topic which is covered by their current studies &business cases for business students, engineering cases for engineering students etc.). The author should provide a one page description of the case with some additional information from various sources added to it. =owever eep in mind that the case should be role played and not analy5ed. Cases which are too complex, have too many elements to be considered or too many roles involved have to be reduced to a more moderate level. 6ny interruption of the play, because someone has to loo up information, /ust slows the momentum of the action without producing results. The author defines the number of necessary roles depending on the complexity of the case and the number of cultures and participants available. The options are manifold and can be easily changed each time. Roles can thereby either be evenly distributed between cultures or one culture could deliberately be represented as being the stronger or dominant. 6s an option roles can be removed or added during the course of the play to shift the balance in the one or other direction. Role playing cases are not limited to /ust two cultures0 there can be as many cultures as there are roles to portrait a truly multicultural situation. It is essential to develop a description for each role involved, providing tips and nowledge which are important to the story from the characters! viewpoint. Role descriptions should include enough information to get an idea of the character, his motivations, nowledge and expectations, but should not place too many limits on the player. Binding this delicate balance is probably the hardest step in setting up a role playing case. The author should always prepare and have more information available than he intends to use, should the play stall or run into the wrong direction. #efinition of the case and the roles - required steps;

6naly5e the class #efine a central theme Select a case and modify the story #efine and describe roles #escription of roles 'repare additional information

"#ample: Class analysis; 6 global business training course with 8: participants from ** different countries. The aim of the role playing case is to help the students to overcome initial communication barriers and to raise general cultural awareness. The case itself is of less importance and only considered a tool to reach the aim. Central theme; 6 multicultural business case0 as all students are comfortable with business cases The modified story $abbreviated for this e#ample%: Mellopps Global, a cereals retail company from the FS6 runs in 6ustria, among other countries, a local retail subsidiary. #ue to unforeseen circumstances the subsidiary can not fulfill the requirements foreseen in the annual financial planning and has incurred a huge loss in the last financial year. The reasons for the losses are many, as are the assumptions about causes and responsibilities for the severe crisis in which the 6ustrian subsidiary is currently seen. The losses have drawn the attention of the FS6-based headquarters to the 6ustrian subsidiary. 6n urgent meeting is called by the C$> of Mellopps Global in order to resolve the problems of the local subsidiary. Therefore the C$>, CB>, the 'roduct "anager, and =R-"anager are sent to 6ustria to solve the problem and bring the business bac on trac . They meet with the local representatives &country manager, mar eting I sales manager) to discuss open issues and next steps. Roles involved: Since the company is internationally concerned, their representatives all have different nationalities and cultures. This leads to diverse approaches to solve the problem. C$> &FS =eadquarters, "exican nationality, male) CB> &FS =eadquarters, Chinese nationality, male ) =R-"anager &FS =eadquarters, FS-6merican nationality, female) Country "anager &6ustrian Subsidiary, 6ustrian nationality, female) "ar eting I Sales "anager &6ustrian subsidiary, Eerman nationality, male) 'roduct "anager &6ustrian subsidiary, Eree nationality, female) Kationalities have been chosen according to the students who volunteered to ta e an active role in the play. !dditional information $to be handed out &hen needed%: Mellopps has signed a worldwide merchandising contract with Sky-wards Pictures. >ne of *9 different figures from their new film Galaxy-war 4 is added with each pac age of Mellopps cereals. "#ample role definition: 'R-(anager $)S !merican% "ost important for her is that people are feeling well and secure in their wor place. She thin s that life-long learning guarantees the long-term success of a company and the people involved. Biring employees is never a good solution and by discussing open issues problems can be resolved. 6ssumption why the local subsidiary is doing so badly; "iscommunication and insufficient continuing education planning within the local subsidiary. Galaxy Wars Merchandising &information is only handed out when needed); =er eight year old son is a great fan of the series and li es the figures very much.

*reparing the stage: In a next step the author defines the role of the facilitator. $ssentially there are two options; 6ctive involvement of the facilitator, or the facilitator as a moderator participating from the bac ground. (oth options have distinctive advantages0 a more active part, including a role in the play allows much better control of the situation, the facilitator can intervene without destroying the flow of the play by acting from the outside &-the off7). In this case however, the actors will always be aware of the facilitator and especially if they consider him being in a superior position in real life &li e being a professor), might change their behavior accordingly. 6 moderator, who is not actively ta ing part in the play itself has limited steering options, but if he is not forced to intervene might fade into the bac ground and be more or less forgotten by the players. Kext the seating arrangement and the stage are designed. The seating arrangement has often a big impact on which communications happen more frequently and on who is considered the central focus of attention. (y choosing a rectangle or oval formation, it is possible to accentuate the importance of one or two roles, while a round or square formation will provide a more even outloo . Round or oval seating arrangement ma e it harder to have La visible opposing-teams structure, while oval or rectangle arrangements offer two sides of a table. Considering the class, the case and the players and roles involved, a time schedule should be set and openly communicated to all participants. Schedules should not be made too stringent0 If a role play is going very well it doesn!t ma e sense to suddenly stop it /ust because the time is over. >bservers often give valuable inputs to the discussion step and should be included. If you did not plan in all the members of a class or training group, the non-players should be included as observers. This can either be done by free observation of all participants, or by assigning specific observers for each player. The use of a questionnaire to describe the character&s) is also a viable option. 'reparing the stage - required steps; #ecide on the mode of moderation 6rrange seating and the stage Time schedule >bservers

"#ample: "ode of moderation; The facilitator presents the scenario and introduces the roles. Then heAshe fades into the bac ground as much as possible, ta ing notes for debriefing and discussion. $xample- Classroom setting

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&'urple M players0 blue M observers) Time schedule; #ay one; 4elcome and introduction of the method &N hr) 'resentation of the scenario, the case and the roles &N hrs) 6daptation and distribution of the roles &O hrs) Students have time to discuss the case and the play &variable time- based on students decision) #ay two; 4elcome and presentation of the case &N hrs) Role play &8hrs, including a brea if necessary) #ebriefing and #iscussion, filling out feedbac sheets &* N hrs)

Conducting the play: This step does not differ much from a standard role play assignment as described above. 6fter a short introduction by the facilitator, the stage, which was prepared in advance according to the decided seating arrangement, is given over to the players. The characters are then introduced and the story so far is presented, the play begins and the players start to act according to their characters! roles. The facilitator, depending on the level of activity chosen either ta es part in the play or remains in the bac ground, intervening and coordinating the play only if necessary. 4hen the play is nearing its end or the time is over, heAshe provides a short conclusion and invites the participants and observers to the debriefing. Steps of a play phase; 'repare the stage and the props 'resent the scenario Introduce the characters 'lay Conclusion Debriefing0 discussion and feedbac1. 6fter a brea , in which everyone has time to formulate some thoughts and words on what has happened, the debriefing phase allows all participants the opportunity to describe how they felt and what they perceived. >bservers are as ed to add their input and their viewpoint. In cross cultural role playing sessions it!s important to point out why certain actions were underta en, especially if someone acted in an unexpected way or in a way considered rude. The other participants, the observers and the facilitator provide feedbac on request and as questions about the play themselves. >nly after everyone has been heard, the debriefing step concludes with general and hopefully fruitful discussion, focusing on the ey points which evolved through the role play and presentations by the participants. This is a good moment to add some additional theory or input from the facilitator. If feedbac sheets have been prepared, they are handed out during the last part of the debriefing phase. $xample - Beedbac questions; #id you find the role playing exercise entertaining and did you en/oy participatingH #id it combine theory and reality wellH #id you learn something new and usefulH #o you believe it a good method for presenting cross cultural topicsH #id it raise your interest in cross cultural mattersH 4ould you recommend it to your colleaguesH #id it compared well with other methods of presenting sub/ect materialH 4ould you li e to participate in other role playing scenariosH Steps of a debriefing phase; 'resentations by the participants 'roviding feedbac to the participants

#iscussion of the findings Beedbac

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