Role play (pedagogy)
In the social , in school education , in the traffic education in the behavioral therapy , the educational psychology and in training in military, police or management area, the role-playing game has become an indispensable method of professional work. Certain workouts are unthinkable without role-playing exercises. The theoretical basis of the role play is the sociological concept of the social role and usually a special role theory.
Like other forms of play, role play is practiced by children from an early age. It remains a constant companion throughout childhood. The child plays with parents, siblings, peers, but also with objects. The role play helps the child to acquire (social) reality.
The actual game gradually loses importance in the realization of role concepts in adults, but not the practice of new roles, e.g. B. at work, in sports, in new groups or social relationships. The playfulness tends to be retained in special courses (for example in coaching) when social connections are to be made clear or practiced.
Game thought
The game didacticians Siegbert A. Warwitz and Anita Rudolf define the idea of role play as “being someone else while playing ”. They understand it to be the opportunity to swap roles in a playful way, to put oneself in the shoes of a stranger or an animal, to identify with them, to get used to their way of thinking and feeling and to carry out their actions from them. Warwitz / Rudolf speak of “ empathy education ” with the pedagogical goal of developing a better understanding of the other. According to the saying “Never torture an animal for joke, because it feels like you feel the pain”, this method has also proven itself as an effective means in the context of animal welfare and cruelty. When dealing with people it is z. B. to swap the role of the perpetrator for the role of victim and to draw experiences and lessons from it. In traffic life, it is important to sensitize the individual road user to the problems of others.
to form
Role-playing games can be realized by the players actually slipping into the role of someone else, e.g. B. in those of the parents, the teacher, an aggressive or fearful classmate. You can re-enact the role after realistic experiences, even caricature it, fill it in with desirable behaviors, try out and discuss alternatives.
Role plays can also take place through “representatives”, such as in puppet and hand puppet shows or when staging poetic creations such as B. the design of fairy tales or fables and their characters.
Live role play
In couple therapy , the role reversal has the educational function of getting used to the emotional life and behavioral patterns of the partner and presenting them to the other as a mirror image that is as realistic as possible.
In family therapy , parents and children are given the opportunity to depict the other generation according to their daily experience and thus make bad habits, but also virtues, visible and open to discussion. This can include the effect of penalties (deprivation of liberty, imprisonment) on the part of the adolescents or responsibility (duty of supervision, educational task, consequences of recourse) on the part of the adults.
Substitute games
The hand puppet show as a role play
The hand puppet show offers shy children in particular, who do not like to present themselves to the audience in person, the opportunity to hide behind a puppet that they let act for themselves. The puppet becomes a medium to be able to portray one's own role or another role. Since the actor acts invisibly behind the puppet stage, only his voice is audible, which can also be alienated.
As such a didactic teaching theater z. For example, the “ Karlsruher Verkehrskasper ” has gained a firm place in traffic education in preschool and elementary school: the children act as puppet guides, projecting, representing and discussing problems, fears and behaviors of road users into their puppets and discussing them with the audience . They play the role of the first grader on his way to school, the role of the reckless cyclist or car driver, the role of the bus driver in dealing with aggressive teenagers, or the role of the police officer in enforcing traffic rules and appropriate punishments.
The fable game as a role play
The fable game should be mentioned as an intelligent, but also demanding role-play via proxy : The fable is an attractive form of representation for children, adolescents and adults, which shows the reader or listener a mirror of their behavior, but also encourages self-reflection. With expert support, for example in German lessons , fables can also be designed as your own creations in line with the situation: When composing fables, the inventor and performer slip into the role of animals or objects, which he lets human naughtiness, but also positive behaviors, unfold in scenic play. In addition to the well-known fable “ The Two Goats ” by Jean de La Fontaine , which represents a dispute about priority on a narrow jetty and ends with the two falling into the river, there are also analogous modifications by students in the literature . The template is z. B. translated into the fight of two ruffians to lead the school bus or two vehicles to a parking space.
A similar use of the role play is known in the psychotherapeutic area through the fairy tale game .
Basic types of role play
- Freely associated and spontaneous role-playing games, which the game participants openly design while playing with their imagination . Such a game can be played with or without toys and is subject to open agreements or scenarios. Mother-father-child, for example, is a role-playing game that many children play spontaneously and usually in constantly changing scenarios. In this constellation, the game primarily serves to acquire social behavior patterns. This is of great importance as very complicated chains of behavior in a playful form and light-footed, i. H. by the way and unnoticed. In this way, however, not only an extremely extensive repertoire of social behavior is practiced, knowledge about the meaning, function and background of social roles is also learned. These are the foundations for current and future social behavior, without which deficits and defects develop, which push individuals to the edge of social processes and stigmatize them .
- Regulated role-playing games in which the players follow the first rules of the game , game plans , a game master or scripts and use certain game equipment. In the broadest sense, this includes all types of games that are repeatedly played according to fixed rules.
- The educational role play - as it is e.g. B. Author Wolfgang Wendlandt ( Alice Salomon University Berlin) sees - connects both: the framework is regulated. A game master organizes, directs, helps with the distribution of roles and structured topics. In addition to the role players, logging observers are used. The game master can interrupt, "double" and support. The game itself is always free within the framework of the topic, i. H. all protagonists express what occurs to them spontaneously in view of the problem. At the end there is always a strict evaluation; everyone involved has the opportunity to give feedback. Role-play leaders using this approach require additional training; the educational role play claims to produce learning effects that remain practiced.
Pedagogy and role play
In pedagogy and psychotherapy as well as in teaching (pedagogy, educational sciences , social pedagogy ), role play is an important method of social group work . Real life situations are usually simulated here. One goal is for the participants to expand their social skills by playing critical or themed situations in the simulated reality. Furthermore, the players can try out their respective roles, try to behave accordingly, and learn to accept others in other roles. Furthermore, competence in dealing with relevant serious situations should be acquired (e.g. dealing with conflicts).
The roles assigned can be very different to the character of the person (see also: Critique), or very similar. If the roles also correspond to the characters of the group participants, changing roles gives the opportunity to experience the feelings and thoughts of the others.
In summary and expanding, the goals of a role play can be:
- Getting to know the social possibilities in certain situations
- Getting to know your own limits: For example, how long can I withstand insults?
- Changing behavior patterns: For example, by practicing de-escalation rhetoric
- Development of empathy: For example, through role reversal or as external observation of one's own role, played by someone else
- Opening up to the outside world and overcoming fears: On the basis that role play can offer a protected space.
- Empathize with experiences that others have made through your own game: make other people's experiences your own
- Acquisition of knowledge / knowledge related to relevant social situations
- Illustration of complex social situations that are difficult / difficult to reproduce in the media
Ultimately, role play is an educational opportunity to gain a feel for the differentiation of one's own identity. By interacting with others, even if only in the simulated situations of the game, I improve my perception and my social skills. Both help me to define and differentiate my role and position in groups.
Role play and didactics
In EW lessons (educational science (s)) or in pedagogy lessons, role play can be used as an opportunity to show, analyze and evaluate the processes and backgrounds of social situations. The game of conflict situations, for example in private and public education , is (as a rule) very popular. With simple possibilities, schoolchildren / students are offered a view that is otherwise only possible with great effort. The educational literature on role play gives many suggestions in this direction. The role play is nevertheless - with all doubts with regard to the cognitive variants - an excellent method of observation, if you bring the necessary skepticism into the evaluation of playful processes.
The limits of role play in didactics lie in the generalization of the content : Pupils / students can e.g. B. Children play, but the interpretation of such play facilities is limited because not every player can empathize and play every role . Putting yourself in the position of people whose knowledge and interests are too far removed from those of the player is problematic, since one has to assume that the game cannot be compared with reality without reservations. An adult e.g. B. is not always able to get into the psychological situation of the child to move. The role play in didactics is above all the possibility of imitating social situations in the educator and adult area (conflicts among educators, practicing leadership tasks, etc.). As such, however, it is very valuable.
Relevant role play (simulation)
In education and psychotherapy , role play is an important method , e.g. B. in social group work . Real life situations are usually simulated here. One goal is for the participants to expand their social skills by alluding to critical situations in the simulated reality. Furthermore, the players can try out their respective roles, try to behave appropriately and learn to accept others in other roles. The roles assigned can be different or similar to the character of the person . If the roles also correspond to the characters of the group participants, changing roles gives the opportunity to experience the feelings and thoughts of the others. On the other hand, the (playing) participants and the audience are given insights into the results of group work in real situations. Here, too, caution is advised: the game is not necessarily to be equated with reality in terms of course and result.
Limits
Dealing with the various types of game in an educational and psychological manner requires expertise and experience. However, role-plays are not infrequently staged by specialists who have no specific training for this. This results in the limits of its applicability in teaching, training and therapy.
Example : Police violence prevention work
During police violence prevention training, there are often non-educators who give the participants props and challenge them to the role-play "attack on a victim". The police officer then shows how to cope with the situation appropriately. Even if these demonstrations are not dangerous or counterproductive, they do not give the participants a realistic opportunity to depict (extremely difficult) behavior. The demonstration by the police officer remains only a theoretical gain in knowledge for the participants. From the perspective of the educational role play, the subsequent discussion is not sufficient for a real learning process.
Example : simulation of previous development phases
As parental education courses repeatedly show, it is difficult for many adults to playfully put themselves back in the mentality of children and young people. They often find the "childish gimmick" ridiculous and themselves elevated above it. Prejudices about a phase of human development that is considered to have been overcome block access. The fact that the state of mind of the new generation mostly does not reflect their own past makes understanding even more difficult.
Example : handicap game
Even if it is certainly not unreasonable, as a healthy person, to briefly take on the role of wheelchair user in traffic, in the household or in sports games, a realistic role reversal cannot be expected here either. On the one hand, only a tiny excerpt from everyday life can be reproduced. On the other hand, the handicapped person has usually already created a completely different (better) starting situation through his daily interaction and regular exercise. Inexperienced game masters sometimes try to simulate a disability by fixing a leg or arm or with technical handicaps and thus create unrealistic constellations.
Role-playing as an educational, psychological or therapeutic measure requires professional competence. They are not suitable for lay experiments. They require an overview of the methodological possibilities, a sensitive design and a well-founded reflection and practical processing of the findings.
literature
- Manfred Günther : Educational role play . Springer Wiesbaden 2018, 2019 ISBN 978-3-658-22792-0 ; e-Book 978-3-658-22793-7
- Siegbert A. Warwitz, A. Rudolf: From the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . 4th edition, Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, ISBN 978-3-8340-1664-5 .
- J. Bilstein, M. Winzen, Ch. Wulf (Ed.): Anthropology and pedagogy of the game . Weinheim 2005.
- Horst Schaub, Karl G. Zenke: Dictionary pedagogy. Munich 2002, ISBN 3-423-32521-6 .
- Dirk Röpcke: Playing in my grandparents' days. Scenic play and role play in primary school science classes. Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-934993-57-5 .
- Morry van Ments: RPG: effective. Oldenbourg, Munich 1998, ISBN 3-486-02699-2 .
- Heribert Völler: Planning and implementation of role and simulation games in business classes. In: Winkler's wing pen. Contributions for commercial education and training in schools and companies. Issue 2/1998, pages 22-28. (on-line)
- B. Badegruber: Problem-solving games . Linz 1994.
- Hans Scheuerl: The game. Investigations into its nature, its pedagogical possibilities and limits . 11th edition. Weinheim / Basel 1990
- Norbert Kühne : Role Play for School Age. Publishing group pedagogical literature, Wehrheim 1982, ISBN 3-921496-26-8 .
- Günter Puzberg, Norbert Kühne: role play. Publishing group pedagogical literature, Wehrheim 1979, ISBN 3-921496-15-2 .
- Wolfgang Wendlandt (Hrsg.): Role play in education and teaching. Reinhardt, Munich / Basel 1977, ISBN 3-497-00829-X .
Web links
- Role play in class on sowi-online
Individual evidence
- ↑ J. Bilstein, M. Winzen, Ch. Wulf (Ed.): Anthropology and pedagogy of play . Weinheim 2005
- ↑ Michael Wirsching, Peter Scheib (ed.): Couple and family therapy . Springer, Berlin 2002
- ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz, A. Rudolf: Playing another be. Role-playing games , In: Dies .: On the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . * Siegbert A. Warwitz, Anita Rudolf: On the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . 4th edition, Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, pages V and 78-82
- ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz, A. Rudolf: What playing can bring about , In: This: From the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . 4th edition, Baltmannsweiler 2016, pp. 22–35
- ↑ Michael Wirsching, Peter Scheib (ed.): Couple and family therapy . Springer, Berlin 2002
- ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz: What do the puppet game do . In: Ders .: Traffic education from the child. Perceive-play-think-act . 6th edition Baltmannsweiler 2009. Pages 252-257
- ↑ S. Schindler: Playing with the hand puppets. Aachen 1999
- ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz: Seducer at the crosswalk . In: Ders .: Traffic education from the child. Perceive-play-think-act . 6th edition Baltmannsweiler 2009. Pages 257-272
- ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz: The traffic fable or how one can address traffic problems . In: Ders .: Traffic education from the child. Perceive-play-think-act . Baltmannsweiler (Schneider) 2009. 6th edition. Pages 172-173, 179-181, 273-279
- ^ E. Franzke: Fairy tales and fairy tale games in psychotherapy , Bern 1991
- ↑ Hans Scheuerl: The game. Investigations into its nature, its pedagogical possibilities and limits . 11th edition. Weinheim / Basel 1990