In 2010, I learned a powerful teaching lesson — not from a conference, journal article, or workshop — but from my daughter’s first day at school.
Her very first classroom activity was simple: “sellam gedara.”
Children were assigned roles — mother, father, daughter — and asked to interact within those roles.
It looked like play.
But it wasn’t just play.
It was structured role-based learning.
That moment stayed with me.
Years later, I found myself asking:
If role-play is powerful enough to shape social learning in children,
why aren’t we using it more intentionally in higher education?
The Challenge: Teaching Requirement Elicitation
I teach Data Warehousing, and one of the most difficult topics for students is Requirement Elicitation.
On paper, it looks straightforward:
-
Identify stakeholders
-
Gather requirements
-
Document them
-
Validate
But in reality?
It’s messy.
It involves:
-
Conflicting priorities
-
Miscommunication
-
Negotiation
-
Role tension
-
Ambiguity
And none of that can be fully understood through slides alone.
So I decided to experiment.
The Experiment: Role-Based Learning in Action
I redesigned the session around structured role simulation.
The Setup
-
40 students
-
Divided into 8 groups
-
Each group received a different business scenario
-
Roles assigned within each group:
-
Client
-
Business Analyst (BA)
-
Project Manager (PM)
-
Developer (DEV)
-
Quality Assurance (QA)
-
The PM was responsible for leadership and coordinating meetings.
But here’s where it became interesting.
The Twist: Dual-Level Interaction
This was not just a simple role-play.
Phase 1: Expert Meetings
All students holding the same role met together.
All PMs discussed leadership strategy.
All BAs discussed elicitation techniques.
All Developers discussed feasibility concerns.
They aligned their professional perspective first.
Phase 2: Team Elicitation
Students returned to their project groups and conducted requirement meetings.
After an hour, they regrouped again by role to reflect:
-
What challenges are emerging?
-
What conflicts are surfacing?
-
What adjustments are needed?
This cycle repeated multiple times.
The Deliverables
After three intensive hours, each group submitted:
-
Requirement Document
-
Meeting Minutes
-
Delivery Plan
-
Timeline
More importantly, they experienced:
-
Stakeholder tension
-
Negotiation pressure
-
Time constraints
-
Communication breakdowns
In short they experienced reality.
A Deliberate Decision: Stepping Back
I made a conscious decision not to intervene directly during the session.
Why?
Because when lecturers stand at the center, students often perform for the lecturer.
I wanted them to perform for the problem.
Four junior staff members observed at different levels, but the learning space belonged to the students.
Was It Perfect?
No.
Was it powerful?
Absolutely.
An anonymous survey at the end revealed:
-
38 out of 40 students expressed strong positive feedback
-
Observers noted higher engagement
-
Students demonstrated improved negotiation and ownership
-
Discussions became deeper and more authentic
Most importantly — the classroom energy changed.
Students were no longer passive recipients of theory.
They were professionals inside a simulated project environment.
What I Learned
Role-Based Learning:
-
Increases cognitive engagement
-
Strengthens procedural understanding
-
Improves collaboration skills
-
Makes abstract concepts tangible
It also introduces productive discomfort and that discomfort creates growth.
Why This Matters
Today’s graduates do not work in isolated roles.
They operate within cross-functional teams.
If we expect industry-ready professionals,
our classrooms must simulate industry complexity.
Slides cannot replicate stakeholder conflict.
Role interaction can.
A Small Pedagogical Risk
This was not a perfect model.
It was an experiment.
But innovation in teaching rarely begins with certainty.
It begins with thoughtful risk.
And sometimes, the most meaningful transformations in education start with something as simple as children playing “sellam gedara.”
I am currently exploring more structured research on role-based peer interaction and measurable learning outcomes in computing education.
If you are experimenting with active learning strategies in higher education, I would love to hear your experiences.
Let’s reimagine the classroom together.
No comments:
Post a Comment