Role-Playing in Education: An Experiential Learning Framework for Collaborative Co-design

Cristo Leon, James Lipuma, Sirimuvva Pathikonda, Rafael Arturo Llaca Reyes

This paper presented the Components of Role-playing in Experiential Learning (CREL) Framework. This framework aids educators and researchers in planning, implementing, and evaluating Experiential Learning scenarios to promote learner attainment of the needed competencies for 21st-century skills. Unlike traditional models, CREL leverages role-playing as a tool for simulation and simulacra, enabling participants to engage in "as if" scenarios through suspension of disbelief. This approach allows learners to navigate complex, dynamic, immersive challenges, bridging theoretical knowledge with practical application. The article began with an introduction to role-playing as a method for Experiential Learning. This helped situate role-playing within the broader context of meta-research and meta-education. Next, the article explored the limitations of current educational practices and the critical need for frameworks that bridge these gaps through innovative, experiential approaches. The paper examined the need to address the gap presented by the lack of a coherent understanding of role-playing and, more broadly, Experiential Learning. The article then presented the CREL framework in detail. Finally, it closed with a discussion of the meta-level outcomes, implications, and overall application of the CREL for education and research.

Full Text