Role play in the classroom is a form of instruction in which you have students take the part of someone else

so that they can understand a situation from a different perspective than they normally would. However, it is not a perfect form of instruction, as it has both advantages and disadvantages to its use.

What are the advantages of role playing in training? Some trainers have a tendency to over-estimate the value of role playing in training, but there is no question that role playing can provide powerful and significant learning opportunities. Here are some of the advantages role playing has over other instructional processes: Role playing can that is it has the capability! to develop greater involvement with the issues and knowledge that is the focus of training but it may not create greater involvement!. Role playing can be used as a behavioral per-training assessment or diagnostic to assess where a learner is in terms of skills, since the trainer can observe real behavior. Role playing also allows assessment of how well learner understands and can apply what is learned, as indicated in their behavior. "rovides opportunity to practice in what is presumably a safer environment where mistakes have no real world consequences as would be the case in on the #ob practice. note that some learners will not find a role play environment safe!. Role playing practice can be segmented or divided up in ways that could not be done in real on the #ob settings. $ person can practice a part of the actual skill to be learned until mastery, then another part of it and so on in progressively more comple% steps. &here can be a great deal of control over the practices. 'ecause role plays can be involving, both in emotional and cognitive ways, they can also be used to help people understand others, and the positions of others. (or e%ample, a person can role play a position with which they disagree, to better understand that position. )t should be noted however that role playing does not automatically confer these benefits. )t must be implemented properly. Sadly, it*s probably the case that in more than half the situations where role playing is used in business training, it*s advantages end up limited by trainer inadequacy or a superficial analysis of how to use role playing properly.

What are the disadvantages and/or misuses of role playing? +hile role playing is a powerful instructional technique, often it is misused by trainers or trainers use it without considering that it also may have drawbacks or disadvantages. Here are some things trainers should know about the use of role plays. &he power of role playing is only harnessed when the role player receives ,-",R& feedback. )ne%pert feedback or feedback from group members who are at the same level of competence as the role player is often useless, and does not further learning. .nfortunately, most role plays in training sessions are done in small groups, and most feedback given by other, less than competent group members. +hile trainers may like role plays, many people who attend training actually hate them and feel e%ceedingly uncomfortable in role play situations. &his does not necessarily mean that people who hate them cannot benefit by them, but trainers need to consider the tradeoffs between the use of role plays and the discomfort and an%iety they create.

 &he role playing of highly emotionally charged situations tends to be less effective in large groups, since the role playing tends to take on the characteristic of acting performances, or, the performance becomes too artificial and sounds funny. )t*s hard, for e%ample, for learners to pretend to be very angry without going over the top or starting to giggle. &his is less of a concern in therapeutic settings, but is a factor in training. $lmost every use of role playing in large group training sessions involves e%treme compromise, often to the e%tent that learning does not occur, or is interfered with. &hat*s because role playing works best when there is sufficient time to prepare people for the role play, do the actual role play, provide e%pert feedback, and do any debriefs. /ost larger group sessions involve role playing that goes basically 0out of control0 of the trainer, since the trainer cannot monitoring constantly, or be the source of e%pert feedback.