Let’s Play Pretend: Roleplaying as a Tool for Education and Engagement in Secondary Social Studies Classes by Joshua Bratton A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION with an emphasis in CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY Ogden, Utah April 27, 2023 Approved Stephanie Speicher, Ph.D. Vincent Bates, Ph.D. Ryan Cain, Ph.D. Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgments 2 Abstract 3 Nature of the Problem 4 Strategies for Engagement 4 Roleplaying and Student Engagement 5 Literature Review 6 What is Engagement? 6 What Affects Student Engagement? 7 Engagement and Technology 8 Why Does Engagement Matter? 8 The Effect of Games on Learning 9 Roleplaying in Education 10 Social Studies and Roleplay 13 Roleplays in Practice 16 Purpose 18 Method 19 Context 19 Unit Topics and Objectives 20 Unit Outline 21 Educator Review 23 Process of Curriculum Design 23 Roleplaying Rules 23 Character Creation 25 Lesson Plans 26 Canvas Course 29 Evaluator Feedback 30 Future Application and Dissemination 31 References 32 Appendix A 35 Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 3 Acknowledgments This project has succeeded only through the grace and love of God. The mortal support I have also received, however, cannot be understated. My parents have encouraged me and been my sounding board throughout this process, and I am endlessly grateful to them. My brother has helped me get my mind off things when I have been stuck through numerous games of Warhammer and Star Wars Legion. My friends Andrew, Olivia, Robbie, and Sean have kept me company as I worked on my project, and their camaraderie and insistence on being helpful were incredibly heartening. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Emily Knight, Rachel Knight, Zoë Fetters, and John Starinieri for their aid in making this project the best it can be. The Hu’s album Rumble of Thunder provided excellent music to focus and write to. Matthew Mercer and Brennan Lee Mulligan got me into tabletop roleplaying games and continue to inspire me as I run campaigns of my own, and without their examples, I would never have had the idea that formed the basis for this project. The books of Brandon Sanderson and Brian McClellan provided welcome respites throughout this project, as did the McElroy Brothers’ podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me. There are so many more people who deserve to be mentioned, but for fear of making this single section as long as the entire rest of the paper, I will simply say: Thank you. Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 4 Abstract Maintaining student engagement is a problem educators constantly face, especially in the field of social studies. The purpose of this project was to develop a curriculum unit for secondary social studies classes that incorporates roleplaying in order to heighten student engagement while also communicating content and critical skills. A unit of five lessons was created, with a roleplay where students portrayed decision-makers in a fantasy version of the American Revolution featuring throughout. Feedback was received from three educators in order to refine the curriculum unit. This feedback indicated both an eagerness to use the unit and a desire to do more with roleplaying in the classroom overall. The practical implications of this feedback and the unit as a whole with regard to its application in a real classroom setting indicated significant potential for further use in education. Keywords: roleplaying, social studies, gamification, student engagement, secondary education Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 5 Nature of the Problem Keeping students engaged is critical for an educator, but it can also be incredibly challenging. What constitutes engagement is a complex issue, and little attention has been devoted to it (Axelson & Flick, 2011). Students who are engaged show “active involvement, commitment, and concentrated attention, in contrast to superficial participation, apathy, or lack of interest” (Newmann et al., 1992). Disengaged students are considered to be at a greater risk of dropping out (Finn & Zimmer, 2012). As such, maintaining student engagement is essential to helping students learn. Strategies for Engagement Numerous strategies exist to keep students engaged. Gamification, for instance, has led students to report greater enjoyment of a class, as well as feeling they were doing more to prepare for the class and were learning better (Leaning, 2015). This seems to be especially true of students who already showed motivation to learn (Rogmans & Abaza, 2019). The use of technology can also enhance student engagement, especially when COVID-19 is disrupting established behaviors, technology is becoming crucial to the educational and engagement processes (Anderton & King, 2016; Hargreaves, 2021; Martinez-Lincoln et al., 2021). No matter how engagement happens, students remaining engaged teaches them persistence and perseverance (Finn & Zimmer, 2012). This sort of socio-emotional learning is incredibly important for students of all ages, and can also increase the engagement students feel with a class (Hargreaves, 2021). Although numerous strategies exist for student engagement, that does not mean more cannot be found. Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 6 Roleplaying and Student Engagement Roleplaying may be another strategy to improve student engagement. Tabletop roleplaying games, or TTRPGs, where players make characters and then take those characters through imagined scenarios by responding to situations as their characters would, can help students put the knowledge they have learned and their critical thinking skills to work by giving them a problem to solve using that knowledge (El-Tayib, 2020). Roleplaying is one of several terms used to describe this behavior, which has also been called process drama or simulation (Wright-Maley, 2015). Roleplaying can help students develop their English skills by describing their character, actions, and environment (Otty, 2017). Having students roleplay can help them explore personal biases and learn more about engaging with other cultures (Anderton & King, 2016). Roleplaying games have even been used in engineering classes to help teach complex subjects (McConville et al., 2016). Literature Review Engagement has long been a point of focus in the study of educational practices. Similarly, roleplaying has grown as a facet of research. While these two topics often coincide, there is a wider body of literature about both of them with regard to education that provides a fuller context for the discussion. What is Engagement? The definition of engagement within an educational context has long been a matter of discussion among scholars, all the way back to the 1930s and Ralph Tyler’s research into the correlation between the amount of time a student spends on work and how it affects learning (Axelson & Flick, 2011). Newmann et al. (1992) argued that engagement is about “active Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 7 involvement, commitment, and concentrated attention, in contrast to superficial participation, apathy, or lack of interest” (p. 11). They also noted that levels of engagement change depending on what a particular person is doing and who they are with; in addition, they argued that engagement for students is not simply about a determination to complete coursework, get good grades, or win approval from others; it is about “psychological investment” (p. 12) in their schoolwork (Newmann et al., 1992). Axelson and Flick (2011) pointed out that engagement is not always easy to determine. “Some students, we know, may show outward signs of engagement but actually be mostly detached; some may be deeply curious about their coursework or psychologically invested in it but, for whatever reasons, display few or none of the behavioral traits we associate with engagement” (Axelson & Flick, 2011, p. 41). They went on to argue that educators’ definition of engagement should include specific learning goals and contexts, different types of students, and the methods of engaging students. Newmann and colleagues (1992) agreed that engagement is not easy to determine, and made the claim that engagement should be used as a way to think about the quality of a student’s concentration on their coursework and the effort they put into learning. Finn and Zimmer (2012) concentrated on how student engagement relates to students who are considered at-risk. Their view of engagement was that at-risk students who are successful have certain attitudes and behaviors they use to be successful; these are engaged attitudes and behaviors. They also argued that remaining engaged is a matter of persistence and that this is part of what students are being taught implicitly through going to school. What Affects Student Engagement? Student engagement can be affected by several elements. Newmann and colleagues (1992) noted that levels of engagement change depending on what a particular person is doing Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 8 and who they are with. They looked at engagement as resulting from students’ need for competence, how much students feel like part of a community in school, and if the coursework students are given is perceived as “meaningful, valuable, significant, and worthy of [their] effort” (Newmann et al., 1992, p. 23). They noted that extrinsic and intrinsic motivation is important to engagement. If students have a sense that they “own” the work they do, with opportunities for individual expression and direction, this also helps foster engagement. If students feel their coursework is applicable to the real world, they are also more likely to be engaged. Of course, Newmann and colleagues also noted that students are more engaged when they are having fun with what they are doing. In contrast, Wong (2020) argued that giving students a sense of autonomy and control over their education may be different depending on the cultural context, specifically pointing out how that might happen in Hong Kong as opposed to in the United States. Wong also highlighted differences in what sharing student work might look like in different cultures, as well as how different cultures can influence how students view sharing work with a wider audience. Finn and Zimmer (2012) echoed other researchers who have dealt with this topic in that they agreed engagement behaviors respond to practices used by both the school at large and individual teachers, thus allowing for engagement - and thus student successes - to grow despite other risk factors (Finn & Zimmer, 2012). Martinez-Lincoln, Barnes, and Clemens’s (2020) study, which dealt with engagement in relation to intervention for struggling middle school readers regarding inferential reading comprehension, determined that computer-based intervention worked well with students who self-reported high amounts of mind-wandering and anxiety; it is hypothesized that this may have been connected to greater student engagement because of the nature of the program. At the same time, the researchers noted that English Language Learners (ELLs) did not do as well when using the computer-based Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 9 intervention, especially in comparison with ELLs involved in the control group or teacher-based intervention. Engagement and Technology Hargreaves (2020) looked at how online education impacts student engagement, especially within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, Wong (2020) indicated issues with the use of technology to engage students, as technology access is not the same across the globe. Why Does Engagement Matter? The consequences of student engagement, or a lack thereof, have also been a focus of research. Newmann et al. (1992) argued that engagement is necessary because it deepens the effects of formal education, helping to develop long-term retention in students. Finn and Zimmer (2012) argued that engaged students do things such as attend school and classes, follow the directions of teachers, complete in-class and homework assignments, and have “positive attitudes about particular subject areas and about school in general” (p. 98); this is in contrast to disengaged students, who by not adopting these attitudes and behaviors are at risk of not being successful. The pair claimed that those individuals who practice these attitudes and behaviors of engagement can see how they are essential to the process of learning something and that a lack of these behaviors even in elementary school can be used to identify students who might be at risk of dropping out. Martinez-Lincoln, Barnes, and Clemens (2020), while discussing engagement in relation to intervention for struggling middle school readers regarding inferential reading comprehension, made the statement that students tend to struggle with wandering minds, anxiety, and fixed mindsets that they cannot get better at something, and that greater engagement can help mitigate the impact these issues have on the child’s education. Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 10 The Effect of Games on Learning Changing the strategies an educator uses to teach students can improve engagement. Leaning (2015) argued that games help students learn in different ways than simply reading from a text, which in turn encourages participation. Leaning also argued that games cause students to learn more deeply, rather than just the facts and figures they will need to pass their next exam. Leaning’s study indicated that games led students to work harder and revealed more clearly to students the links between their work and activities such as lectures. In contrast, when Rogmans and Abaza (2019) did a study on the use of simulation games in a higher education business class, they found students reported higher engagement in a traditional, case-based discussion setting rather than when dealing with a simulation. They also noted that students who, in their survey after the experience, said they felt positive about their success in the class, liked the subject matter, and were not trying to downplay themselves and their own work, reported greater engagement; as such, they argued simulation games may work better with students who are already enthusiastic about learning. Lastly, they pointed out that the complexity of a simulation game and difficulty learning how to play may affect how students respond to it. Roleplaying in Education Anderton and King (2016) discussed a case study where students in a program to become counselors played the role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. They noted that as a player views the world of the game as their character, they are actually engaging in a simulation of how some people behave and the consequences of those behaviors. “Within a game, players develop empathy for the in-game avatar and the designed world as a system and other characters within that virtual system… This empathy…could potentially be linked to Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 11 people, structures and systems in the real world” (Anderton & King, 2016, p. 46). The authors discussed how the fantasy setting of the video game presents a different culture for the player to interact with and learn about, how player choice matters in Oblivion, and how characters within the game react to these different player choices. Students reported that learning about this different culture presented in the video game and figuring out how their character fits into this culture elicited a strong emotional reaction, and that they felt increased empathy for people who are generally perceived as being outsiders such as immigrants, LGBTQIA+ individuals, ethnic and racial minorities, and more as a result of playing the game and experiencing these things. Anderton and King concluded by arguing that this experience, especially within the safety and security of a class, greatly expanded student learning with regard to what they experienced. These benefits are also seen in tabletop roleplaying games. El-Tayib (2020) highlighted the educational benefits of tabletop roleplaying games, or TTRPGs, like Dungeons & Dragons. “...[Y]ou’ll find players engaging in storytelling, discovering history, problem-solving, managing finances, using simple-to-complex mathematics, team building, public speaking…” (El-Tayib, 2020, p. 12). In addition, El-Tayib noted how using fictional scenarios can help engage students with the material and then connect what they have learned and experienced to the real world, such as exploring a fantastical valley where the dragon population has decreased before connecting that to research regarding predator populations in the real world. Similarly, Otty (2017) focused on the educational benefits of TTRPGs in English classrooms. Otty pointed out how roleplaying like this can couch lessons such as genre, making inferences, and more in a fun, engaging activity that is not simply lecturing. In addition, Otty mentioned how these activities can draw in students who are performing poorly and get them to engage more than some other activities. Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 12 Daniau (2016) looked at roleplaying in education in a broad sense, as well. Daniau argued that roleplaying has been used in education for a longer time than people may initially realize. As with others discussed above, Daniau noted the more abstract benefits of roleplaying games, such as the development of communication skills. In addition, the different ways roleplaying could be used in the classroom were discussed, such as a warm-up activity (Daniau, 2016). Barrera and colleagues (2021) looked at the impact of roleplaying in a Chilean higher education institution, specifically in business classes. They noted that problem-solving, creative thinking, and interpersonal communication are all critical in modern employment, and that roleplaying can help students develop these skills (Barrera et al., 2021). Barrera and colleagues (2021) determined that roleplaying can be used to improve student engagement and academic performance. Narrative is one of the aspects that allows roleplaying to be used in this way. Cheville (2016) focused on the use of narrative to help strengthen student learning, particularly in STEM subjects, and on creating a curriculum that moves towards that idea. Cheville argued that narratives allow students to connect what they learn in ways that they find beneficial. Because roleplaying centers around a narrative and the role one’s character has therein, it is a valuable tool in forming these connections (Cheville, 2016). At the same time, Cheville (2016) noted issues surrounding the posited curricula, especially faculty and staff concerns around practicality and support in using roleplaying and narrative in classes. Guha (2013) posited a class activity where students can engage in roleplaying and the potential benefits that could result from such an activity. Guha used the example of a science class that could roleplay as though they were meeting Dr. Gabriel Fahrenheit, the scientist who developed the Fahrenheit temperature scale (Guha, 2013). In addition, Guha noted how students Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 13 could use roleplaying to explore a hypothetical reality where the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales had not been developed (Guha, 2013). The focus was on how such activities simultaneously engage students’ imagination and convey information they need to learn, with opportunities for the students to discuss after the roleplaying is done. Lastly, Guha pointed out how it is important for teachers to use multiple different types of activities to engage students, and how roleplaying can be one of those activities (Guha, 2013). McConville and their fellow researchers (2017) discussed the use of a roleplaying game they developed in a master’s level engineering class, where different students took on different roles within a water sanitation service system. They reported that when students were debriefed about the experience, they not only commented on their enjoyment of the experience but also on how it caused the students to change their perspective when looking at the situation. In course evaluations, the majority of students said the game was useful in achieving certain learning goals. They did note, however, that when giving critiques, “Several students commented that it took time…to get into their roles. As a consequence, many also felt that they needed more time to play the game” (McConville et al., 2017m, p. 601). In addition, teachers involved worried about students becoming distracted by the fun and missing the learning objectives as a result, as well as about oversimplification of a complex situation for the purposes of a game causing students to think all such situations would be like that. Nevertheless, the minor role of the game in the overall course allayed concerns. Social Studies and Roleplay Roleplaying in social studies education presents its own benefits and challenges. Lo (2018), in discussing the use of roleplay to teach controversial issues, wrote that attempting to embody the role of someone unlike oneself can help students think more deeply about the Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 14 opinions they have and why they hold such beliefs. Lo argued that students who engage in roleplaying as part of their education are exposed to multiple perspectives, helping them to better understand other people. They did warn, however, that care must be taken when considering the roles being played, especially “if the roles are derogatory, inauthentic, or portray a skewed sense of history that may induce trauma” (Lo, 2018, p. 331). In addition, they argued that the roles being assigned need to either connect to students and their lived experiences or “add to the substance of what students will learn” (Lo, 2018, p. 332). The Zinn Education Project (n.d.), which has produced some roleplay scenarios to be used in social studies classrooms, echoed Lo’s (2018) concerns regarding the roles students may take on in the course of a roleplay, pointing out that some events should not be presented as both sides being equally valid in their views; at the same time, they point out just how impactful roleplays can be for students. In a study of the use of roleplaying in social studies classes, Stephens et al. (2013) pointed out that roleplaying can “promote historical empathy and critical thinking” in students (p. 261). They found that few secondary social studies educators use roleplaying, especially not on a regular basis. While they argued that roleplaying can help students become informed and strengthen critical thinking, they also argued that more research is needed regarding why secondary social studies teachers do not regularly employ roleplaying; this was in addition to acknowledging that the current educational environment, which places a heavy emphasis on standardized tests, may hamper the use of such tools. DiCamillo and Gladwell (2013) did a case study involving a roleplay in two middle school social studies classrooms and found that, when used appropriately, roleplays can engage students and encourage them to think critically about the scenario being posed to them. They also pushed back on the idea that roleplaying may disadvantage students who face standardized tests, Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 15 arguing that evidence indicates the contrary. They also argued that if students can be invested in a roleplay scenario, they will take it seriously. DiCamillo and Gladwell pointed out that roleplays can be as long or short as the teacher feels are beneficial, and that if teachers combine their efforts and resources, they do not have to try to develop a roleplay scenario all on their own. Lastly, they provided a list of recommendations regarding what quality educational roleplay scenarios include, echoing Lo’s (2018) warning about the roles students are given while also encouraging educators to teach and scaffold the material to help students fully engage with the roleplay and assess the students at the end. Wright-Maley (2015) similarly offered some considerations educators should take when looking at roleplaying and simulation. Part of his argument was that there are four criteria for what makes a simulation, which they broadly used to refer to activities such as roleplaying, process drama, or reenactment. He wrote that simulations “represent a real-life process, event, or phenomenon” (Wright-Maley, 2015, p. 11); have conclusions that can be altered by the choices students make during them; have students that are actively involved; and can be used “to teach something specific and meaningful about the phenomenon or process it is meant to represent” (Wright-Maley, 2015, p. 12). A specific note was made that “student engagement on its own is not a sufficiently compelling reason for using simulations. Engagement may, however, be an entry point into content that promotes learning” (Wright-Maley, 2015, p. 13). In examining issues with the use of roleplaying and simulations, he also pointed out that this sort of strategy is not useful for introducing content knowledge to students, which has kept it from being used extensively in the past. Specifically, Rosler (2008) noted how much more engaged her students reported being when process drama was used in the class compared to without it. Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 16 Morris (2003) pointed out, “Once the drama starts, students can quickly take events into improbable arenas; particularly if the teacher does not have a wealth of examples, background knowledge, and perspectives with which to guide students” (p. 44). He also noted that process drama and roleplaying may present classroom management issues that discourage teachers from employing these techniques. Morris provided recommendations for how to address classroom management, preparation time, and more, all while noting how all of these activities could engage students, teach them content and critical skills, and develop a sense of community in the classroom. Roleplays in Practice Although roleplaying can be a useful educational tool, it requires care to implement in a way that benefits students. Morris (2003) indicated that preparation needed to begin with the teacher: reading up on the content that was to be integrated into the roleplay or process drama and then summarizing it into a story with a setting, characters, and content was the first step. A list of objectives that the students could consult would help provide additional structure to the roleplay. He also advocated for maps to help students visualize the geography of the setting, listening to traditional music from the region the roleplay was set in, and integrating physical movements to help engage students and form additional connections between the roleplay and what they were learning. Rosler (2008) did something similar with her fifth-grade social studies class when she introduced process drama to them. She allowed the students to develop their own dialogue during these process dramas, finding that the students readily drew on vocabulary they had learned over the course of lectures and textbook readings. Sometimes, such as when they were learning about the Boston Tea Party, Rosler had only a few students involved; other dramas Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 17 involved every student in the class, like when they were learning about the abolition movement. She reported that she “used signals to start and end the drama, and the students quickly learned to respond to ‘action’ and ‘freeze’” (Rosler, 2008, p. 271) Bigelow (2020) used similar techniques in his roleplay about Reconstruction, where students portrayed freed slaves who were heading to Washington, D.C., to advocate for greater equality. He first taught about Reconstruction itself, noting that more background helps students understand the scenario better. Before the roleplay actually began, he used a discussion prompt to get students thinking and talking about what they thought would happen to former slaves after the Civil War. He then gave each student a handout and also read it aloud to the class, informing them who they were portraying and what their goals were; he encouraged the writing of inner monologues and the creation of a persona to help students get into their roles more fully. He also distributed a handout that explained the problems facing former slaves during Reconstruction - the problems their personas would be trying to solve in the roleplay. When the roleplay started, he once again explained the scenario and then informed the students that he would not be leading the activity: the students would have to determine how to deal with the scenario in front of them, just as happened in history at the time. Sanchez (n.d.) employed a similar process in his roleplay about the New Deal, but with some changes to better suit the historical situation. The conceit of this roleplay was that the students would all be people at a conference about economic recovery following the Great Depression. He started by presenting the students with a handout that included the questions they would be debating in the roleplay, which allowed him to clarify things they were confused about and ensure they understood what they would be doing. He then gave each student one of four handouts, which described their role in the roleplay. The students were then grouped up based on Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 18 which handout they were given, with one group for each role. Once the students had determined the answers of their groups to the questions that were being debated, as well as the solutions their group would put forward, they were given time to try and make alliances and compromises with other groups before the “conference” truly began. After some alliances had been made, each group wrote an introductory speech for the conference. These were all presented, and then the students began to roleplay, putting forth their groups’ resolutions and trying to find a way forward. The teacher portrayed Franklin D. Roosevelt and led the conference, and thus the roleplay. Bigelow (n.d.) explicitly set aside two class periods for his roleplay about the American presidential election of 1860. He started with the necessary background information students needed to know, starting with what they absolutely had to know and then what it would be useful if they knew. From there, he went over the issues of the 1860 election with the students using a handout for that specific purpose; this was also an opportunity to provide clarification on things for students. The class was then divided into groups, representing Abraham Lincoln and several significant groups of voters; each student got a handout associated with their group, which indicated what their group cared most about. The groups were given opportunities to discuss the information in their handout. Then, the groups were divided so some of them would go talk to other groups and other groups would send representatives to talk to those who stayed seated. The group representing Abraham Lincoln split up to talk to all of these groups and listen to what they wanted. This went on for a variable amount of time, generally as long as necessary to let the Lincoln group get a good sense of what the other groups wanted. The Lincoln group then worked together to write a campaign speech. The next class period involved the teacher improvising campaign speeches for the three other presidential candidates based on provided background Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 19 information, with the Lincoln group also giving the campaign speech they wrote. The students in the groups other than Lincoln were then given ballots and asked to individually vote for the candidate who best represented their group, factoring in what their group had determined were the issues most important to them and the campaign speeches. The votes were then tallied and the class discussed the outcome, including what might happen as a result of it. Purpose There is a wide breadth of literature devoted to the importance and role of engagement in classrooms and students’ overall academic achievement. Such concerns are often brought up when discussing roleplay as an educational tool. As discussed previously, roleplay can be a powerful method of engaging students in the material and coursework while also deepening their understanding of the subject matter (Anderton & King, 2016; El-Tayib, 2020; Otty, 2017; McConville et al., 2017; Barrera et al., 2021; Daniau, 2016; Guha, 2013). There is not much literature, however, that discusses the use of roleplaying in social studies. The purpose of this project is to write a curriculum to facilitate the use of roleplaying as an educational tool in secondary social studies classrooms. This is an aspect of the use of roleplaying in education that has the potential for significant application of this tool. More specifically, this project achieved the following goal: create a functional unit plan based on state social studies content standards that a secondary social studies teacher could use in the classroom, with a focus on roleplaying as a means of presenting content to students. Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 20 Method Context In order to investigate the use of roleplaying as an educational tool in secondary social studies classrooms, a social studies curriculum was developed. This consisted of a unit plan that heavily featured roleplaying, as well as any relevant materials necessary to facilitate the roleplaying element. For the purpose of this study, roleplaying was defined as taking on the role of a character in a scenario by responding to situations as the character would. Before starting work on this curriculum unit, IRB approval was necessary. This was obtained swiftly (Appendix A), and development of the unit proceeded. This unit was focused on the build-up to and the outbreak of the American Revolution. This particular time period was chosen because it presented unique opportunities for students to engage in roleplay. If students were presented with the same situations as the Founding Fathers were, but without the context of historical knowledge, would they make the same choices as people like Patrick Henry and Benjamin Franklin? Engaging in roleplay around this topic would allow students to develop unique perspectives on real-world history while also deepening their understanding of the historical context surrounding the outbreak of war between Britain and the thirteen colonies. At the same time, this unit would have to be flexible enough to allow teachers to feel comfortable using it and adapting it to their unique, individual styles. As stated previously, this unit also could not become overly focused on roleplaying; were this to be the case, the unit would be unusable in a practical setting, which would defeat its intended purpose. This would be a delicate balancing act, but one that could have great potential if it could be accomplished. Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 21 Unit Topics and Objectives This unit is about the onset of the American Revolution. The author’s home state is Utah, which means that this unit falls squarely under U.S. I Strand 3 of the Utah Core State Standards for Social Studies: Grades 7-12 (2016). This unit would be built with the following standards in mind: ● “U.S. I Standard 3.1: Students will use primary sources to identify the significant events, ideas, people, and methods used to justify or resist the Revolutionary movement. ● U.S. I Standard 3.2: Students will compare and evaluate historians’ interpretations of the significant historical events and factors affecting the course of the war and contributing to American victory. ● U.S. I Standard 3.3: Students will use primary sources to compare the contributions of key people and groups to the Revolution, such as Paul Revere, Thomas Paine, Abigail Adams, the Sons and Daughters of Liberty, and Thomas Jefferson. ● U.S. I Standard 3.4: Students will explain how the ideas and events of the American Revolution continue to shape American identity.” (USBE, p. 13). The roleplaying scenario was especially focused on the events that led to the American Revolution. As such, it focused on the following suggested guiding questions from the Utah Core State Standards: “What defines a political movement as a revolution? Are there specific conditions that are necessary in order for political revolutions to occur? What were the important political philosophies used to justify the American Revolution and advance the cause of liberty? … What led some colonists to become patriots, others to become loyalists, and some to remain neutral?” (USBE, pp. 12-13) Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 22 Unit Outline The first part of this unit featured a roleplay scenario in which students are presented with a basic fantasy setting and told that they are representatives of colonies established by a kingdom across the sea. After a war fought to preserve the kingdom’s control over these colonies against a rival kingdom, taxes have been introduced and increased on major imports to the colonies. Students would be informed of what colony they are representing and how these taxes impact them, if at all. The students would also be told that some colonists favor rebellion and throwing off what is seen as an oppressive yoke, while others believe these taxes are reasonable given the expenditures of the kingdom during the war. The students would then each be asked to state which side they favored and why. Finally, a vote would be held to determine if the colonies will rebel or remain with the kingdom. This served as the introduction to the unit. Even if they did not yet know it, students would have an understanding of events leading up to the American Revolution, as well as some of the political thoughts that drove the Revolution. From this point, the actual topic was introduced through lectures and more class discussions, using the roleplay scenario as a springboard for discussions regarding actual history. Lectures, class discussions, and assignments were all part of this unit, based in the actual social studies content the students need to be taught. Students would read and discuss primary sources from the time period, especially from notable figures such as Thomas Paine and Abigail Adams, with a focus on how they related both to why the American Revolution started and the events of the Revolution itself. Students would also read and discuss the views of various historians regarding the events of the Revolution and its onset, looking at how and why these Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 23 historians reached the conclusions they did. Throughout the unit, however, the roleplay scenario would be revisited in order to provide additional context to the historical events being discussed. The roleplaying aspect of this needed some sort of mechanism anchoring it, to help students feel more involved. Possibilities included a “character sheet” including information about their character and information for playing the game, likely using dice to help determine if an action that character took succeeded or failed. Miniatures representing these characters could be used to further engage students and help them understand the geographical places in relation to other events in the scenario. Educator Review To ensure this unit could realistically be applied, several active secondary education teachers were contacted to review this unit and provide feedback. One of the educators consulted for feedback has a Bachelor of Arts is social studies education, a license to teach secondary social studies in Indiana, and is currently working towards a Master’s of Library Science, with a specialization in digital content, curation, and collections; she has been playing TTRPGs since high school. Another got a Bachelor’s of Arts in chemistry education and has been teaching chemistry for two years, in addition to running a TTRPG club; they have been playing TTRPGs for ten years. The last is currently an English education student and has been working as a librarian at Ogden High School in Utah for three years. These educators were contacted throughout the course of this project, both to ask them to be involved and to get feedback from them regarding the unit. Communication with these educators took place via email and Discord. Additionally, someone who runs roleplaying games regularly was consulted regarding the ruleset, as well, and their feedback focused on the mechanics of the game elements. He has been Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 24 playing TTRPGs since 2014, and has been running them and making supplemental rules for use in his games since 2018. He also has a Master of Science in pest management. Process of Curriculum Design Roleplaying Rules One of the immediate necessities for this project was a ruleset. A ruleset would add game-like elements to the roleplaying experience, which would further engage students. In addition, a ruleset would allow the teacher to adjudicate what students were trying to have their characters do, which would provide an element of control to help manage the class during the roleplaying elements. Although there are numerous existing rulesets for roleplaying games, a simple, more customized ruleset was selected in order to make running the roleplaying sections easier for teachers. The rules also needed to emphasize student engagement. As part of this, ease of accessing materials had to be considered. It was determined that obtaining several six-sided dice would be an easier process for teachers than getting sets of dice with more or fewer sides as are used in some popular roleplaying games. In addition, the rules needed to facilitate the roles the students would be taking on: political representatives of the colonies. Trying to run combat would be time-consuming and would not lend itself to considering the political and ideological views of the various colonists. As such, the characters were only given three abilities they could use: Deception, Intimidation, and Persuasion. These were selected in order to represent three fundamental ways the characters could behave in a social encounter. They could lie to their constituents to get them to agree; intimidate them into agreement; or persuade them with arguments. For each ability, between one and three six-sided dice would be rolled to determine how well the character did at whatever they were attempting to use that ability to do. The number Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 25 of dice would be randomized at character creation by rolling a six-sided die; getting a 1 or 2 resulted in rolling one six-sided die for that particular ability, 3 or 4 would result in two dice, and 5 or 6 would result in three dice. Some basic numbers were provided for the teacher to use that rolls would have to match or exceed in order for the character to succeed at whatever they were trying to do, generated by looking at the averages of rolling one, two, or three dice. With this in place, a teacher would be able to do a roleplaying scenario for their class. A brief description of the setting for the roleplay scenario, including ten colonies, was included so that teachers would not need to develop it on their own. This information was drawn from the author’s own setting for games of Dungeons & Dragons. This description was kept to a minimum; too much information would distract from the point of the roleplay and potentially bog students down in questions about the setting. Character Creation Students would need directions on how to make a character in the first place, as well as a place to keep track of information about their character. This was a simpler task than developing the actual rules for making the roleplay work. First, the teacher would divide the class into ten groups, each of approximately the same size. These would form the “colonies” that the students’ characters would be representing. Next, students would be instructed to choose a species. Some recommended generic fantasy species such as elves, humans, gnomes, and dwarves were suggested, but students were also encouraged to use their imagination and come up with something of their own. The next step involved generating ability scores; this was the same information as described previously but stated in simpler terms so that students would have an easier time understanding. Students were then told to develop a school-appropriate name for their character before finally being encouraged to think Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 26 about additional details for their character. Recommendations provided in the character creation rules included the character’s physical appearance, what the character thought of their colony, and why they were chosen to represent their colony, among others. The page where students could keep all the information about their character was also simple to design. A space was provided for the character’s name, the player’s name, the character’s colony, the character’s species, the three ability scores with spaces beside them where the ability scores could be written, and the character details they came up with. The decision to have students create their own characters rather than portray the real Founding Fathers was rooted in several factors. First, the curriculum unit was built with an American audience in mind. American students are likely to bring a bias to anything dealing with the American Revolution; by having students play characters in a fictional setting, a barrier was created between what they might already know about historical events and what could have happened. Removing these biases provided opportunities for examining the events of the American Revolution from different and new perspectives, which would be more difficult if historical figures were used. “When our standards are challenged, our understanding expands” (Overly Sarcastic Productions, 2023, 0:30) Second, the Founding Fathers were all wealthy, white, heterosexual, cisgender men, and most of them were Protestant. This is not an accurate representation of the world in which we now live, and using characters made by the students allowed for them to see themselves represented in a situation they otherwise would not be. Additionally, the students would be more engaged with the scenarios because they used characters they imagined. Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 27 Lesson Plans With the gameplay and character creation rules prepared, five lesson plans were created. Each lesson was built assuming a class period of seventy-five minutes. Each lesson opened with a writing prompt and fifteen minutes for students to answer the prompt; each prompt was selected to get students thinking about something that would be dealt with during that lesson or the previous one, while also attempting to provide multiple ways for students to engage with the prompt. Following this was a fifteen-minute discussion period where the teacher could share their own response to the writing prompt before opening the space for students to share and discuss their thoughts on the topic. Sharing one’s writing is a vulnerable activity, and having the teacher also be vulnerable in that way can encourage students who are more uncomfortable doing that. In addition, the teacher could use the time to reinforce rules involving class discussions, creating a safe space for every student to share their opinion even if it differed from those of their peers. These lessons were built with the understanding that students were also reading from a textbook or other assigned materials. Teachers were also encouraged to include class or small-group discussions as they saw opportunities for them and as fit their own pedagogies. In the first lesson, this was followed by an introduction to roleplaying. Not every student would be familiar with roleplaying, so introducing it was crucial. The roleplaying scenario was then briefly introduced, establishing the basic setting and initial conflict and how students’ characters would engage with it. A piece was written that teachers could read to introduce the scenario if they did not want to come up with something themselves. Following character creation, twenty-five minutes were allotted to actually roleplaying. This much time would allow students to have ample opportunity to engage in an unfamiliar behavior, but it was also necessary so every student could describe how their character reacted to the scenario presented. This initial Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 28 scenario was simple: with taxes being increased on the colonies, what did the gathered representatives of the colonies think should be done about it? A slideshow was created to present all of this information to students. The second lesson plan replaced any roleplaying with a discussion of the roleplay itself. This was an opportunity for students to express how they felt about the roleplay. If the students did not like it, this would leave the teacher the opportunity to abandon roleplay as a tool and shift to something different. It would also be a chance for the teacher to fine-tune the future roleplaying that would occur to better fit their classes. Following this, there was direct instruction on such topics as the Stamp Act, the Boston Massacre, and the Boston Tea Party, all leading up to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. Included with this was the option to read or listen to Patrick Henry’s famous “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech. This would teach students the real history that inspired the roleplay scenario in the previous lesson. Students were then provided a link to one of Abigail Adams’s letters to her husband, John Adams, where she discussed women’s rights at the time; the students were instructed to read the letter before the next class. This particular piece, as well as the Patrick Henry speech, was selected to give students the opportunity to read primary sources and discuss them. A slideshow was developed that teachers could show to students. The third lesson included another roleplay scenario, this time involving soldiers being garrisoned in the colonies. This was selected in part because it mirrored the garrisoning of British troops in Massachusetts before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, but also because it would be a reasonable response no matter what the characters voted to do in the previous scenario. This scenario was again followed by a period of discussion to debrief from the scenario, followed by Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 29 more direct instruction regarding the start of the Revolutionary War. A slideshow was created for this purpose. The fourth lesson followed the same format. This roleplay scenario involved an opportunity for an alliance with a foreign power that the characters would vote to accept or reject. This mirrored the American alliances with France and Spain during the Revolutionary War. The direct instruction dealt with the middle of the Revolutionary War, including the winter spent at Valley Forge. A slideshow was created for this so that teachers did not have to create their own. The final lesson featured the final roleplay scenario: proposing and voting for systems of government. This was intended to set up the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, which would be covered in an upcoming unit. The direct instruction was centered on the Americans’ alliance with France and the victory at the Battle of Yorktown, with a slideshow created that teachers could use for this purpose. Mørch et al. (2019) presented roleplaying involving scripts along the lines of those used in film. This is one way to structure a roleplay, and was a potential avenue for this curriculum unit. It was decided, however, that this would reduce opportunities for students to put forth their own ideas in the roleplay and explore alternatives to actual historical events that they came up with. This followed more in the manner of Rosler’s (2008) work with process drama. Canvas Course A Canvas course was created to contain all of the materials for the unit and present them to teachers. An introductory page was made to give teachers background on the unit and its intent. The lesson plans, ruleset, and character creation materials were also uploaded. Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 30 The materials for each lesson were grouped together, including the lesson plan and slideshow. For each of the lessons, pages labeled “Teacher Talk” were also created. These were intended to provide encouragement and advice to teachers that felt out of place in the lesson plans proper. An informal tone was selected for these pages to accomplish the goal of encouraging teachers and helping them feel more comfortable with using roleplaying in the classroom. In addition to the lesson plans and “Teacher Talk”, additional resources were provided for each lesson. These included educational YouTube videos and museum websites with additional activities or information that teachers might find useful or might want to offer students to encourage them to do more learning independently. This was intended to help teachers feel the course was more usable and provide them with more options than the lesson and slideshow that had already been designed. Evaluator Feedback Feedback was overwhelmingly positive regarding this curriculum unit. Among the three educators who provided feedback, the consensus was that the unit had been put together well and clearly. In particular, the library science graduate student praised the fact that the fantasy setting had been kept simple so that students were not overloaded with information and could focus more on the point of the roleplay and the direct instruction later. The transition from roleplay to history was also received well, specifically that it was a “nice way to keep things interesting”. They also appreciated the inclusion of additional, optional resources like videos or virtual tours of museum exhibits related to the American Revolution. All three educators provided very similar suggestions regarding the curriculum unit. Specifically, the library science graduate student provided encouragement to continue the Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 31 “teacher talk” elements throughout the unit as opposed to the original two, as this would allow for additional support for teachers using the curriculum as they progressed through the unit. Based on this recommendation, a “teacher talk” was written for every lesson. In addition, mention was made that some terms within the ruleset and character creation documents needed to be better defined or simplified to reduce confusion; edits were made to these documents that resulted in them being greatly simplified, which the other reviewers praised. It was also noted that some of the roleplaying scenarios were built with a presumed outcome of previous scenarios, and that this would put more of a burden on the instructor if the students did not follow that path. Guidance for other potential outcomes of previous scenarios was then added to each lesson plan so that teachers would be better prepared for more eventualities in the roleplays. Feedback was also provided regarding the game mechanics involved in the unit. The reviewer deemed the initial mechanism for adjudicating the results of rolls too complex for what was supposed to be a simple system and based on this feedback the process was simplified. Future Application and Dissemination Although every educator who provided feedback on this curriculum unit pointed out flaws, such as a need to expand the “teacher talk” or that there was a blank slide in a presentation, all of them also responded that they felt the overall design and implementation would work well in a real classroom. One educator explicitly said they wanted to borrow from this curriculum unit and incorporate elements of it in their own teaching. These materials were designed to be suitable for any secondary-level American history class. These materials were designed with a class period of seventy-five minutes and an average of between twenty and thirty students in a class. Not every school fits these criteria. Individual Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 32 teachers would need to put in some work to customize this unit to fit their classes more optimally. Overall, this project succeeded in the attempt to create a curriculum unit that educators would be excited to put into use or even adjust for other subjects. Although roleplaying is not a traditional tool in the educational toolbox, the ways in which roleplaying can encourage the development of critical social skills and deepen students’ understanding of content makes it an option that should be considered more readily (El-Tayib, 2020; Morris, 2003; Rosler, 2008; Stephens et al., 2013). Over the course of working on this curriculum unit, I have developed a much clearer understanding of and deeper appreciation for how much work goes into designing materials that a teacher wants to use and will still communicate content and skills to students. Trying to navigate both a desire to keep students engaged and a need to ensure they learn what they need to is a fraught balancing act (Rogmans & Abaza, 2019; Wright-Maley, 2015); putting too much weight on one element or another can bring the whole endeavor tumbling down. At the same time, I have grown in my confidence as an educator. I feel more certain now that I can develop units and lesson plans that can both deepen student engagement and teach students the necessary content and skills, and I have a better grasp of my signature pedagogy and how I want to go about the processes of teaching. 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The Status of Social Studies, 259-275. Utah State Board of Education. (2016). United States history I. Utah Core State Standards for Social Studies, 12-13. Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 36 Wright-Maley, C. (2015). What every social studies teacher should know about simulations. Canadian Social Studies, 48(1), 8-23. Wong, K. M. (2020). “A design framework for enhancing engagement in student‑centered learning: own it, learn it, and share it” by Lee and Hannafin (2016): an international perspective. Educational Technology Research and Development, 69, 93-97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09842-w Zinn Education Project. (n.d.). How to - and how not to - teach role plays. Zinn Education Project. Retrieved September 18, 2022, from https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/how-to-teach-role-plays/ Let’s Play Pretend Bratton 37 Appendix A Approval Letter from IRB