Abstract
Educators are facing the challenge of selecting appropriate tools that ensure positive learning outcomes and quality of learning compared to traditional classroom settings. Role-playing simulation is an exciting and motivating tool for engaging students in the activities that are to be presented in the classroom. This study aimed to demonstrate that role-playing simulation activities are a unique and creative tool in science-based modules and how to deploy this student-centred approach that empowers students to take learning into their own hands and apply it in an engaging context. Two science-based modules are selected for implementation of role-play and simulation activities. In these activities, students take on different roles, assuming the profile of a character or personality, to interact and participate in diverse and complex learning settings. Overall, student feedback was positive. Students can apply what they have learnt, create new connections, and reinforce the core concepts by putting them into practice in a fun and engaging context.
TopIntroduction
Identifying critical 21st-century skills needed to survive and succeed may serve to prepare students for every changing and developing world. Modern learners nowadays want to be challenged and inspired in their learning. They want to collaborate and work with their peers. However, students are still primarily taught and assessed through the teacher-centred approach especially in sciences-based modules in many government/private institutions. Through this approach, students always memorize and regurgitate facts instead of making new discoveries throughout their learning process (Chua et al., 2018). Experiential learning is the future of learning for 21st-century learners as it offers accelerated learning experience and connects students to the real-world setting. Experiential learning activities deploy a student-centred approach that empowers students to take learning into their own hands and apply it in an engaging context.
Many educational institutions offer experiential education teaching programs for an example field trip, internships, and classroom experiential learning exercises to increase the classroom value and a direct experience components to their own traditional teaching method. All these teaching programs do have group learning, service and problem-based learning components. Role-play learning experience must be correlated between education and experience. It is a pre-planned activity with meaning and with experiential learning, the purpose is reaffirmed by the learners. The core attributes of learning through experiential learning are reflection and action. Activities such as case studies, role-play simulations that use real-life experiences as its basis of instruction are part of the teaching methods. Experiential learning like game-based activities, virtual lab interaction lesson and simulation, engage student’s intellect and imagination to strengthen student’s understanding. The goal of Taylor’s University is to encourage Teach Less Learn More (TLLM) pedagogies. Thus, this book chapter aimed to promote role-play simulation activities in sciences-based modules to ensure the learning process is enjoyable and effective and to deploy a student-centred approach that empowers students in connecting learning to the real-world context.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Experiential Learning: The process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.
Simulation: Learning experiences that enable students to participate in a simplified representation of the social world.
Active Learning: Learning activity that included the participation of the students, such that learning is transformed into an engaging and interactive process.
Assessment: The process of gathering and discussing information from multiple and diverse sources to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences.
Collaboration: Students learn together with their peers, through engagement in discussion and sharing sessions, to expand their knowledge of a particular subject or skill.
Feedback: Student’s response/opinion about the activity.
Role-Play: Changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role.