Sustainability programs in higher education aim to equip students with the skills, competencies, and mindsets they will need to promote sustainability in their professions. Many sustainability programs are grounded in Education for Sustainable Development. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is a teaching pedagogy founded by the United Nations that empowers students to find a responsible and sustainable balance between the economy, society, and the environment in their professions and daily lives. Sustainability programs use different teaching methodologies to engage students in ESD. Research on ESD indicates that teaching strategies and methodologies should do more than simply convey environmental information; rather, they should promote deep, transformative learning. Role play is one approach that can facilitate deep learning. Previous studies suggest that role play can transform attitudes and behaviors, help students apply theory to real world situations, build creativity, promote group problem solving and decision-making, facilitate the development of effective communication strategies, and think strategically. This kind of transformative learning can help societies move in the direction of greater sustainability and better prepare students for environmental professions. This study focused on the effectiveness of role play in sustainability education and investigated whether role play should be promoted in higher education contexts as a tool for advancing ESD.
The authors conducted a case study with first year undergraduate environmental science and environmental studies students at RMIT University in Australia. Participants were enrolled in a course about sustainability, and 120 students in two different sustainability classes participated. During the course, students worked in pairs or small groups to learn about environmental issues from different perspectives. The course culminated in a role play event—a symposium—during which students played the roles of various stakeholders, such as members of political parties or representatives of business interests. As stakeholders, students presented their views about an environmental issue and fielded questions from other stakeholders. After the symposium, students debriefed in small groups for about an hour. The authors observed student work and interactions throughout the course, symposium, and debriefs, and they collected student reflections from a final writing assignment. The authors analyzed their observations and student reflections to identify trends in student experiences with role playing for sustainability.
Overall, this study demonstrated that role play can be an effective strategy for advancing ESD. The results indicated that participants developed skills and competencies that are crucial for sustainability professions. The authors found that students enjoyed working in small groups or pairs with their classmates to research an environmental issue, cultivate a stakeholder role, and play the part of a stakeholder in a formal symposium. In this course, individuals collaborated with each other using face-to-face interactions, social media, Google Drive, email, and online forums. Participants indicated that course activities helped them develop their collaboration and communication skills. They also said that the course encouraged them to think about complex issues from multiple perspectives and angles, practice empathy, and develop deeper understanding of the issue and of others' views.
The authors found that participants reflected on the fact that the course structure and content were directly relevant to their lives and applicable to real-world sustainability issues. Some participants indicated that they experienced shifts in their own environmental attitudes and behaviors and found themselves paying more attention to these issues outside of class. Many also talked about seeking out other learning opportunities outside of class.
The authors acknowledged that there may have been some bias in the written reflections, since they were part of the students' course grades. However, they also noted that their observations throughout the course, symposium, and debriefs reflected and reinforced all data collected through the written assignment. The scope of the study was also limited, and only explored the impacts of one type of role play in one context. The study did not include an analysis of the longer-term impacts of role play on students' environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.
The authors noted that role play may have benefits similar to real world experiences, such as internships, and may play an important role in career preparedness. They suggested that role play can be used as a stepping stone to more intensive work experiences like internships. Since students usually have career experiences like internships late in their college careers, the authors believe role play can be especially useful for first and second year students to apply real world skills and become invested in sustainability fields earlier. They also recommended that educators explore other ways of using role play, such as online platforms, to deliver course content. The authors did caution that facilitating role play requires a great deal of planning, preparation, and thoughtfulness. Role play should only be used if the educator has the time and resources to do it well. If done well, though, the authors believed that the benefits are well worth the resources.
The Bottom Line
Sustainability professions require skills and competencies that are derived from deep learning, which can be facilitated by role play. This case study investigated the use of role play to teach sustainability concepts and competencies to an undergraduate class at an Australian university. The authors found that role play did promote deep learning and facilitate the development of foundational professional skills. Though role play should be used only when an educator has the time and resources to facilitate it well, the authors recommended role play as a powerful way to promote deep learning about sustainability and meaningfully prepare students for sustainability professions.