Lesson Plan

Purpose

The scenes in this play were created to give student a chance to inhabit the roles of postsecondary students doing a school project. Through acting out the various characters they learn about the skills and concepts that support positive group dynamics and have a chance to practice the skills by improvising in a low stakes environment.

Learning Outcomes

A study of the use of this play with Centennial students in 2020 found that students who participated showed improvement in these areas:

• understanding the theories and concepts of group dynamics
• confidence and skills in dealing with common group situations
• seeing situations from different perspectives
• applying learned experiences and skills to real life situations
• self awareness and understanding of the impacts of their behaviours on others.

Starter

I find it useful to explain to students why we are acting out the scenes before starting. I reassure them that they are not being judged by their acting skills. I encourage them to have fun while they are doing it and to think about how what is happening to the students in the play connects to their own experiences or what they are learning about in class. I also tell students that they do not need to act as a character; they also have the option of being an observer.

I then read through the descriptions of the different characters to familiarize the students with them.

Activity

The book contains five different scenes that cover the journey of five college students as they work on completing a class project together. Over a 14-week course I like to introduce one scene per class, so that over the course of five classes we introduce different concepts of group work and then integrate the ideas as students work in groups on their own projects. It takes about 20 minutes to read the script, improvise, and discuss the ideas- although with any discussion the length is dependent on how many prompts you use and the level of interest.

It is also possible to choose a specific scene that illustrates some points you want to get across and use it as a one off.

I have used the script both in person and on line and have structured it differently in those spaces. In person, I print out a copy of the script for each student and put them in small groups of five or six to act it out, improvise and discuss. Each scene has dialogue, a prompt for improvisation, discussion questions and key takeaways. Then I bring them back as a big group to clarify and solidify some key points.

During online classes I have asked for volunteers to read out the script which I put up as a share screen. The students then improvise an ending in front of the larger class. Afterwards we discuss as a big class group.  I’m sure it is possible to do the reading, improvising, and discussing in online breakout groups- I just haven’t tried it that way yet. I have found that the first time working on the scene requires a good amount of explaining and support- but as you keep working through the script it gets quicker and easier and students are eager to volunteer to play different roles.

Creative Commons License

I wrote this script after having taught group dynamics courses and having assigned many group projects in other classes. Over time there were certain issues and themes that came up repeatedly in group projects. In these role plays I try to address some of those typical situations so that students can see their experiences reflected back at them.

Some of these situations may not ring true for the students you teach and you may also feel there are some common situations or student characteristics missing that you would want to add. I encourage you to do so and make the role plays feel as relevant as possible to your group of students. I have hesitated publishing the script because each time I use it I change details or add new circumstances to keep it relevant. I’ve come to understand it more as a living document rather than as a finished product. The discussions are also spaces where students can agree or disagree with how the group in the script handles their project and each other.

I hope you enjoy using it with your students and I would love hearing about your experience with the role plays.