Students read an empirical study and take on roles to “act out” when discussing the text in class. This will eventually become a form of literature review.
Objective
THE OBJECTIVE
STUDY SKILLS
The activity is particularly useful for courses involving empirical studies, as students often find these texts difficult to read.
DISCUSSION
The activity facilitates academic discussions in the classroom, while sharpening students' ability to argue from an academic rather than a personal point of view.
Execution
PREPARATIONS
TEACHER'S PREPARATION
Divide students into groups and assign a range of roles to the group members. Examples of roles could be: author of the article, critic, neutral/undecided reader or practitioner. Assign each group an empirical text to work with.
Share the material on Brightspace.
STUDENT'S PREPARATION
Students read the assigned texts in advance.
IN CLASS
IN PLENUM
Introduce the activity and explain the roles to the students.
Create groups and assign each student a role in the group.
IN GROUPS
The groups review the empirical study by discussing it based on their assigned roles.
IN PLENUM
After the discussion, each group presents their conclusion in class.
Considerations
CONSIDER
ABSENT STUDENTS
Keep in mind that some students may be absent, so be prepared to adjust the groups or texts as necessary.
