1.1.
Developing a Role playing Case Study as a Teaching Tool
Role plays and case studies are two increasingly popular tools in teaching, as the paradigm is noticeably changing
from an instructor center learning environment towards a student centered, problem based approach. The
combination of these two tools provide us with an easily adaptable, extremely interactive and dynamic approach,
which places the students into the midst of the situation and gives them the opportunity to not only to listen and
watch but also to participate.
Role play: The overall aim of role playing assignments is for students to get involved in a much more direct and
practical way than is the case with classic face-to-face teaching. Splitting the word into its two components we can
also get a good impression about the functioning of this technique. It provides the students with personas or
characters which they can use to portray a role in a fictitious setting akin to theater. It offers the chance to play
these characters in a relaxed and risk-free environment, to test one’s own skill and knowledge without any risks
involved and additionally - as with any game we play - to have fun in the process. In a role play participants will
either portray someone else or they will play themselves in a specific situation. Many critics have recommended
that training by doing is the best way of learning for most students and topics. Reading or listening to someone
lecturing is inferior to getting involved, to experiment and to take an active part in the scenario, and this is what role
playing is all about.
Dr. Ellen Langer said in an interview (Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) 1998), “what's interesting to me is that
when people are at play, they are mindfully engaged and that's what's interesting. Play isn't play unless the mind is
there. It's not something that you want to run away from and let your muscles just do it while you're sleeping; you
want to be there because it's fun to be there […] so truths are context dependent. When you realize that, that things
look different from different perspectives, then you stay tuned in because you can't be sure what's going on. And
that staying tuned in is what keeps you involved. That's the essence of being mindful.” This is exactly what role
playing exercises are aiming at, to actively engage people, involve them in the matter and thus keep them alert and
awake, or to say it with Ellen Langers words “mindful” about what is happening in the training session.
“A role playing game is a training session where the facilitator, perhaps with an assistant or two, sets up a scenario
where the participants are assigned different roles, where those roles identify with those in the situation where
participants will find themselves when they undertake their work in the field. The play gives the training participants
opportunities to act out various roles chosen to represent actual roles that would be in the field situation” (Bartle
2004). In the context of intercultural communication, role playing games allow for the training of intercultural
awareness and communication competence by choosing role descriptions which include different cultural heritages
and by including players who come from different countries.
There are three distinctive stages in a role play session: (1) the briefing, (2) the play and (3) the debriefing.
In the briefing phase, the facilitator sets the stage. He describes the scenario and the roles available. The briefing
phase is also the “warm-up” phase for all participants; it is a time used to introduce everyone involved, to explain
the specifics of the role playing technique and to clearly state the aim of the exercise.
The facilitator will explain the scenario; the degree of detail necessary strongly depends on the topic. In the
intercultural context it is advisable to keep the scenario rather open and to allow for free interpretation wherever
possible, as cultural differences will only show up if the participants have the feeling that they are allowed to
interpret the story and the characters in their own way. One good option to prevent the scenario itself from being
culturally biased is asking the prospective participants for their input, especially if they like the scenario and feel
comfortable taking roles in it. Also, the scenario should be somewhat flexible allowing for minor changes in the
setup and adaptations according to wishes of the players involved.
Role description should include all information which the player will need to act ‘in character’ inside the scenario
described beforehand but – especially if the aim of the exercise is to raise cultural awareness or train interaction
processes – should leave some room for personal interpretations and ideas of the “actor”. Role descriptions which
are too complex force the actors to keep too many details in mind and thus limit their flexibility and creativity. Role
definitions are often defined and printed in two variants: one variant which is only known by the actor and the
facilitator and one which is handed to everyone else. This is useful to simulate the fact that in reality we often meet
and must cooperate with strangers of whom we know next to nothing.
After the scenario is described and the roles are distributed, the participants should be allowed some time for
asking questions and chat with each other concerning the scenario and the roles. Often the participants start to
develop an interest for a specific role or culture during this phase. There are many different approaches in how to
assign roles, especially in multicultural scenarios. It is much easier to portray a character of the home-culture than
a foreigner, especially if the culture that should be played is unknown to the player. It can be very difficult to take on
such a role, but by assigning such an unknown culture to a player you force him/her to rely on prejudices and
stereotypes to portray the role, which could also be of great value. If it is the first role playing experience for most
participants involved, the facilitators should allow for very free definitions of roles and see that everyone is content
with or even may pick the role he or she gets. Role playing can be quite stressful to some participants, especially if
they are not used to it, so good care should be taken that everyone, not only but especially beginners, feels
comfortable. Players should be encouraged to really “play”, to take nothing too seriously and also to overact their
characters to make points very clear.
At the end of the briefing phase, as an optional step, the actors are given some time to discuss a general outline of
their play, to define some do’s and don’ts and to establish a basic idea of how their characters will react to each
other. Allowing for a few minutes before the play starts might help to overcome the usual problems of the starting
phase of the role play itself.
Steps of a briefing phase:
a) Present the scenario
b) Present the roles
c) Familiarization phase
d) Assign roles
e) Storyboarding (optional)
In the play phase itself the setting should again be made clear to everyone involved (players and observers),
preferably through a short introduction performed by the facilitator. The stage should be prepared accordingly to
enable the players to simulate the situation with as little effort as possible. This includes seating arrangements,
preparation of props that might be used and any technical support that might be necessary.
The characters are then either introduced by the facilitator or in game by the players themselves. The players then
act their characters according to their role descriptions. It is the facilitator’s responsibility to coordinate the play and
to keep the play moving forward by providing inputs and adding comments, especially if the story is starting to turn
in circles, or if the play is not evolving in an interesting direction. If everything goes well he/she can withdraw from
the action, assuming the position of an observer and only intervening if necessary. He/she should encourage all
participants to actively play their roles, especially if some players are just listening and watching while only one or
two are actively immersed in the story. The facilitator also provides a conclusion him/herself should the story not
come to a natural end. The conclusion of the play phase can be the solution of the problem, the end of the story
(out of players’ actions) or just some final words by the facilitator.
Steps of a play phase:
a) Prepare the stage and the props
b) Present the scenario
c) Introduce the characters
d) Play
e) Conclusion
In the debriefing phase everyone involved, the players, any observers and the facilitator should be given the
opportunity to present their experiences in the role playing situation to the plenum. The debriefing is moderated by
the facilitator who is responsible for drawing out the key-points in each presentation and leading the discussion
process. Only when everyone involved has had the opportunity to present his/her own perceptions, describe how
he/she felt and has received feedback, should the session be closed. The debriefing phase is very important and
should never be omitted. In some play sessions strong emotions like anger, dismay and disagreement come up,
especially if the players take their roles too seriously or have identified very strongly with their character. The
debriefing phase is very important to discuss the situation and prevent the players from taking possible animosities
which evolved in the play-session out into their real life.
Steps of a debriefing phase:
a) Presentations of the participants
b) Providing feedback to the participants
c) Discussion of the findings
Case studies: “Case studies are stories that are used as a teaching tool to show the application of a theory or
concept to real situations. Dependent on the goal they are meant to fulfill, cases can be fact-driven and deductive
where there is a correct answer, or they can be context driven where multiple solutions are possible. Various
disciplines have employed case studies, including humanities, social sciences, sciences, engineering, law,
business, and medicine. Good cases generally have the following features: they tell a good story, are recent,
include dialogue, create empathy with the main characters, are relevant to the reader, serve a teaching function,
require a dilemma to be solved, and have generality” (Center for teaching Vanderbilt University 2006). There are
many forms of case studies which differ hugely in complexity. Case studies range from a simple short scenario and
the question “What would you do now?”, to complex multi-perspective studies. How complex a case should be
depends on what you want your students to do with it. Teachers can create their own cases or take one of the
numerous case studies which are offered as teaching material. Typically case studies are assigned as teamwork
so that participants can brainstorm and develop common solutions, but they can also be used as an individual
assignment. Usually they are presented by a teacher, but it is also possible to transfer the case study method to elearning. Whichever form a case takes, it has three basic components (1) a real world or fictive scenario, (2)
documentation and data, (3) an open-ended problem.
Scenario: Different approaches to develop a case include different ways of defining the scenario. Scenarios can
be based on a news item, research data or some other media source taken from the real world. These cases can
either be described as they happened without changing any details and sticking to the objective approach of
describing real live events, or they could be adapted and changed according to the needs of the exercise at hand in
an “imagine if” approach. There is also the option to develop a completely fictional case, either based on books or
films or invented and developed without any real world connection. The scenario includes descriptions of the
general environment, of the persons and events involved and an overview of possible consequences should the
problem not be solved adequately.
Most experts recommend summarizing the case in a narrative format akin to a short story (Herreid 1999), the aim
of the case description being to engage the interest of the participants. The case material can also include any
number of statistical data, reports, news items, printouts and other media.
Documentation and data: The task or aim of the exercise is stated at the beginning. The scenario, the acting
persons, the problem itself and any upcoming influencing factors should be described and documented in as much
detail as necessary for the completion of the task. The amount of detail will vary from case to case but it is
important to include enough information for a complete and clear picture of the case without overwhelming the
students with too much data. If the case is based on a real world problem any additionally available data is
prepared and supplied on demand. Documentation and data of case studies should always be available to all
participants, a print-out works best. In most case descriptions data and documents are sorted according to the
timeline of the case.
The problem: The problem itself has to be clearly defined but then left open-ended with more than one solution. Its
description should be short and concise. The scenario explains how it came into existence and how the different
actors see it. The problem might be quite simple and only become complicated because of the situation, or it might
in itself be a very complex, many part difficulty, which can only be overcome through a step-by-step solution.
Using case studies as a teaching tool and preparing all the necessary materials is quite time consuming. However,
it is also a very rewarding method, and its numerous advantages can make the time invested very worthwhile.
Case studies explore different angles of perception, require analytical thinking and team work and involve the
students very directly and actively in the working process. This is a much more problem-based and student
centered approach, and as with role playing assignments, keeps the participants interested and alert.
The five Cs of role-playing
Montecino, Smith’s & Young discussed in their article “Virtual World and Role playing” (Montecino, Smith et al.
2003) some common problems, risks and pitfalls of role playing, which they dubbed the “Five Cs”. These are
Control, Controversial Topics, Command of your subject, Can you help and Considered Reflection. The following
recommendations have been modified to build upon their ideas, and also take the intercultural environment into
account.
Control: Facilitators have to cope with a considerable loss of control over the situation. As it is never clear from the
beginning how a role playing session will develop, problems might arise which will not show up in a normal
classroom situation.
 Role plays may develop a ‘life of their own’, going in a different direction than intended. Prepare
intervention strategies like pieces of additional input, or entering the play with a short role yourself, to bring
the players back in line.
 Even if you do have a very well-designed scenario and you have developed a time schedule which seems
to be perfect, be prepared that the playing session might be over too soon or too late. As above, additional
input can be very helpful. Always count in a few extra minutes to be able to lengthen the playing time if the
role play itself develops very well but its duration seems to be too short.

If, in a multicultural environment, you are not sure how to address all cross cultural issues correctly, take
one or more students from those cultures you do not know well as assistants and discuss the role play with
them beforehand. You might even consider including them in the playing phase itself as co-moderators.
Controversial topics: The risk of the play taking a bad direction or getting too heated or even aggressive is
actually very small, but should still taken into account, especially in a multicultural classroom where the facilitator
him/herself might not always notice the upcoming problems or cross cultural misunderstandings. The aim of role
playing sessions is to actively involve the students; this can easily result in heated arguments or inappropriate
statements, especially in a multicultural environment.
 Prepare the students that they will encounter situations which they might find provocative, aggressive or
prejudicial and ask them to react to the situation according to their role.
 Highlight that one of the aims of the exercise is to raise awareness about prejudices, cultural differences
and differences in communication patterns, which could lead to statements which are considered
inappropriate.
 Set-up a ‘safety-line’ mechanism, where every player can stop playing at any time, or take a ‘time out’ to
explain and discuss the issue if he is feeling too uncomfortable.
 Do an extensive debriefing phase, addressing all problems.
Command of your subject: As the participants are involved in a much more direct and intimate manner than as
listeners in a lecture, they will ask questions which may demand much more detail than normal. If you refer to real
people or real places you should be very well prepared and have a host of background information available.
Participants might also question the usefulness of a role play as a teaching method for the topic at hand.



Explain why a role play is used as a teaching tool and why it is worth the time of the participants to partake.
Define clear learning goals.
Prepare the role play thoroughly and discuss it with colleagues and prospective participants to find any
design flaws before playing it the first time.
Can you help?: Some students will be concerned with how their performance in the role play will be relevant for
their grade. They might also turn to the facilitator for help and guidance with how to play their character and to act
in role. People will need a while to get into character; they might even express discomfort at the beginning.




Make clear that their performance in the role will not be graded.
Make clear that there is not right or wrong solution.
Prepare for a slow start and awkward situations (such no one knowing what to say) in the role play.
If someone does not want to participate give the person a task, like technical support, co-moderator or
perhaps a recording clerk. See that he is still actively involved, but do not force him to act out a role.
Considered reflection: As reflections and discussion are the most crucial factors in learning from role playing, the
debriefing step is of utmost importance. Players should reflect on what they felt, perceived and learned during the
session. Concerning cross cultural issues, it is a very good exercise to go through the key situations that occurred
during the playing session and consider what other participants would have done differently. Assigning the role of
observer to students that are not actively partaking can be very rewarding and add an additional component of
reflective feedback in the debriefing phase.




Moderate the discussion, but to not force your opinion upon the participants.
Take a neutral stance whenever possible and move yourself to the background as much as possible.
Prepare a good structure for the debriefing phase and allow for ample time.
Be prepared to start with some feedback of your own, should discussions evolve slowly.
Creating a role playing case study for cross cultural training
A role playing case is a tool that enables students and teachers to gain awareness and deeper insight into cultural
differences, and to find ways towards an efficient collaboration. Classrooms worldwide are becoming increasingly
multicultural. And with diverse classrooms also comes diversity in the learning behavior of students, which
sometimes poses serious challenges for students, faculty administrators and instructors in higher education. It is
therefore important for all concerned persons to gain a better understanding of cross cultural differences. As an
innovative, interactive approach to teach cross cultural differences, role playing cases engage participants by
placing them directly in the story. The story and thus the case develop and come alive as students interact with one
another. A role playing case is an ideal tool to analyze the role of culture in communicating with people from other
cultural backgrounds. Through play and the following discussion, students gain insight into cultural differences and
recognize real life cultural and psychological traits, they learn to identify the major cultural characteristics that
influence interactions and decisions. Students benefit by acquiring a deeper understanding of the case, the people
involved, the language used and the cultural perspective. A common extension of case studies is to assign roles to
students from a certain point in the case and let them take over and develop the story. In a multicultural classroom,
students get the opportunity to “try out” interacting with other cultures or even find the opportunity to place
themselves in the position of someone else, without the risks of a real life situation. Role playing case studies are
more focused on the characters and interactions involved in a case than in the actual solution of the case. The
focus moves from analyzing and problem solving towards interaction and discussion. The technique can be moved
to an online platform, but here it looses much impact as communication is limited to the verbal components and
non-verbal clues are lost. For role playing cases it is often necessary to define characters, organizations and other
elements of a case which are purely fictional. Participants should be able to understand these characters and feel a
certain empathy for them to be able to play the role. Role playing case studies offer a multitude of possibilities and
can be adapted for almost any class, field of study and cultures involved.
There are 4steps in preparing and conducting a role playing case (1) Definition of the Case and the Roles (2)
Preparing the Stage (3) Conducting the play (4) Debriefing, Discussion and Feedback.
Definition of the case and the roles. The case for a role playing study can be based on real events or be
completely fictional. The case should in either way be well known, ready made or made up before changing it to a
role playing case, and it is advisable to test the case as a standard case study before role playing it. As a starting
point the facilitator should analyze his classroom, noting which people of which educational and cultural
background are involved. The central theme is provided by the case but details can easily be changed to include
nationalities of the participants. The story of the case should be limited in complexity with a small number of roles
involved. If the acting persons are not described in the case itself or are of limited importance, a situation (such as
a meeting where the details of the case are discussed) and the according characters can easily be made up, taking
into account the participants of the training and the cultures from which they come.
The story of the case itself can either be an intercultural issue, where cultures clash over a specific topic, or include
a problem that can only be solved by a multicultural team. Alternatively the case can be about a relatively easy and
common problem, just providing a framework for the play itself, while the true focus are the characters and the
cross cultural communication issues arising during play. The case should cover a topic where in which the students
can act with a certain ease, without having to improvise all the time because they have little idea concerning the
field. The easiest way is to provide students with cases coming from a topic which is covered by their current
studies (business cases for business students, engineering cases for engineering students etc.). The author should
provide a one page description of the case with some additional information from various sources added to it.
However keep in mind that the case should be role played and not analyzed. Cases which are too complex, have
too many elements to be considered or too many roles involved have to be reduced to a more moderate level. Any
interruption of the play, because someone has to look up information, just slows the momentum of the action
without producing results.
The author defines the number of necessary roles depending on the complexity of the case and the number of
cultures and participants available. The options are manifold and can be easily changed each time. Roles can
thereby either be evenly distributed between cultures or one culture could deliberately be represented as being the
stronger or dominant. As an option roles can be removed or added during the course of the play to shift the
balance in the one or other direction. Role playing cases are not limited to just two cultures; there can be as many
cultures as there are roles to portrait a truly multicultural situation. It is essential to develop a description for each
role involved, providing tips and knowledge which are important to the story from the characters’ viewpoint. Role
descriptions should include enough information to get an idea of the character, his motivations, knowledge and
expectations, but should not place too many limits on the player. Finding this delicate balance is probably the
hardest step in setting up a role playing case. The author should always prepare and have more information
available than he intends to use, should the play stall or run into the wrong direction.
Definition of the case and the roles - required steps:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Analyze the class
Define a central theme
Select a case and modify the story
Define and describe roles
Description of roles
Prepare additional information
Example:
Class analysis: A global business training course with 24 participants from 11 different countries. The aim of the
role playing case is to help the students to overcome initial communication barriers and to raise general cultural
awareness. The case itself is of less importance and only considered a tool to reach the aim.
Central theme: A multicultural business case; as all students are comfortable with business cases
The modified story (abbreviated for this example):
Mellopps Global, a cereals retail company from the USA runs in Austria, among other countries, a local retail
subsidiary. Due to unforeseen circumstances the subsidiary can not fulfill the requirements foreseen in the annual
financial planning and has incurred a huge loss in the last financial year. The reasons for the losses are many, as
are the assumptions about causes and responsibilities for the severe crisis in which the Austrian subsidiary is
currently seen.
The losses have drawn the attention of the USA-based headquarters to the Austrian subsidiary. An urgent meeting
is called by the CEO of Mellopps Global in order to resolve the problems of the local subsidiary.
Therefore the CEO, CFO, the Product Manager, and HR-Manager are sent to Austria to solve the problem and
bring the business back on track. They meet with the local representatives (country manager, marketing & sales
manager) to discuss open issues and next steps.
Roles involved:
Since the company is internationally concerned, their representatives all have different nationalities and cultures.
This leads to diverse approaches to solve the problem.
CEO (US Headquarters, Mexican nationality, male)
CFO (US Headquarters, Chinese nationality, male )
HR-Manager (US Headquarters, US-American nationality, female)
Country Manager (Austrian Subsidiary, Austrian nationality, female)
Marketing & Sales Manager (Austrian subsidiary, German nationality, male)
Product Manager (Austrian subsidiary, Greek nationality, female)
Nationalities have been chosen according to the students who volunteered to take an active role in the play.
Additional information (to be handed out when needed):
Mellopps has signed a worldwide merchandising contract with Sky-wards Pictures. One of 10 different figures from
their new film Galaxy-war 4 is added with each package of Mellopps cereals.
Example role definition:
HR-Manager (US American)
Most important for her is that people are feeling well and secure in their work place. She thinks that life-long
learning guarantees the long-term success of a company and the people involved. Firing employees is never a
good
solution
and
by
discussing
open
issues
problems
can
be
resolved.
Assumption why the local subsidiary is doing so badly: Miscommunication and insufficient continuing education
planning within the local subsidiary. Galaxy Wars Merchandising (information is only handed out when needed):
Her eight year old son is a great fan of the series and likes the figures very much.
Preparing the stage:
In a next step the author defines the role of the facilitator. Essentially there are two options: Active involvement of
the facilitator, or the facilitator as a moderator participating from the background. Both options have distinctive
advantages; a more active part, including a role in the play allows much better control of the situation, the facilitator
can intervene without destroying the flow of the play by acting from the outside (“the off”). In this case however, the
actors will always be aware of the facilitator and especially if they consider him being in a superior position in real
life (like being a professor), might change their behavior accordingly. A moderator, who is not actively taking part in
the play itself has limited steering options, but if he is not forced to intervene might fade into the background and be
more or less forgotten by the players.
Next the seating arrangement and the stage are designed. The seating arrangement has often a big impact on
which communications happen more frequently and on who is considered the central focus of attention. By
choosing a rectangle or oval formation, it is possible to accentuate the importance of one or two roles, while a
round or square formation will provide a more even outlook. Round or oval seating arrangement make it harder to
have Seite: 7
a visible opposing-teams structure, while oval or rectangle arrangements offer two sides of a table.
Considering the class, the case and the players and roles involved, a time schedule should be set and openly
communicated to all participants. Schedules should not be made too stringent; If a role play is going very well it
doesn’t make sense to suddenly stop it just because the time is over.
Observers often give valuable inputs to the discussion step and should be included. If you did not plan in all the
members of a class or training group, the non-players should be included as observers. This can either be done by
free observation of all participants, or by assigning specific observers for each player. The use of a questionnaire to
describe the character(s) is also a viable option.
Preparing the stage - required steps:




Decide on the mode of moderation
Arrange seating and the stage
Time schedule
Observers
Example:
Mode of moderation: The facilitator presents the scenario and introduces the roles. Then he/she fades into the
background as much as possible, taking notes for debriefing and discussion.
Example- Classroom setting
CEO
CFO
M&S
University
Supervisors
Table
PM
HR
CM
MED
1
HR 1
CM 1
PM 1
M&S
1
CEO 1
CFO 1
MED
2
HR 2
CM 2
PM 2
M&S
2
CEO 2
CFO 3
(Purple = players; blue = observers)
Time schedule:
Day one:
Welcome and introduction of the method (½ hr)
Presentation of the scenario, the case and the roles (½ hrs)
Adaptation and distribution of the roles (¼ hrs)
Students have time to discuss the case and the play (variable time- based on students decision)
Day two:
Welcome and presentation of the case (½ hrs)
Role play (2hrs, including a break if necessary)
Debriefing and Discussion, filling out feedback sheets (1 ½ hrs)
Conducting the play:
This step does not differ much from a standard role play assignment as described above. After a short introduction
by the facilitator, the stage, which was prepared in advance according to the decided seating arrangement, is given
over to the players. The characters are then introduced and the story so far is presented, the play begins and the
players start to act according to their characters’ roles. The facilitator, depending on the level of activity chosen
either takes part in the play or remains in the background, intervening and coordinating the play only if necessary.
When the play is nearing its end or the time is over, he/she provides a short conclusion and invites the participants
and observers to the debriefing.
Steps of a play phase:
 Prepare the stage and the props
 Present the scenario
 Introduce the characters
 Play
 Conclusion
Debriefing, discussion and feedback.
After a break, in which everyone has time to formulate some thoughts and words on what has happened, the
debriefing phase allows all participants the opportunity to describe how they felt and what they perceived.
Observers are asked to add their input and their viewpoint. In cross cultural role playing sessions it’s important to
point out why certain actions were undertaken, especially if someone acted in an unexpected way or in a way
considered rude. The other participants, the observers and the facilitator provide feedback on request and ask
questions about the play themselves. Only after everyone has been heard, the debriefing step concludes with
general and hopefully fruitful discussion, focusing on the key points which evolved through the role play and
presentations by the participants. This is a good moment to add some additional theory or input from the facilitator.
If feedback sheets have been prepared, they are handed out during the last part of the debriefing phase.
Example - Feedback questions:
Did you find the role playing exercise entertaining and did you enjoy participating?
Did it combine theory and reality well?
Did you learn something new and useful?
Do you believe it a good method for presenting cross cultural topics?
Did it raise your interest in cross cultural matters?
Would you recommend it to your colleagues?
Did it compared well with other methods of presenting subject material?
Would you like to participate in other role playing scenarios?
Steps of a debriefing phase:
 Presentations by the participants
 Providing feedback to the participants
 Discussion of the findings
 Feedback