The Use of Role-Playing To Help Students Understand Information Systems Case Studies

A role-playing approach that introduced real world cases of information systems issues in business was compared to the traditional approach of discussing case studies for 32 first year university information systems students. Results showed students considered the role-play approach to be superior to the traditional case study discussions, although observers of role-play were not as enthusiastic as participants. Students considered the role-play approach helped them understand how information systems can be used in business. They also considered that role-play enhanced their learning and they felt very comfortable with the role-playing approach. The authors suggest that role-playing is useful for first year students provided that all members of the tutorial class participate and sufficient preparation done by teaching staff before the tutorial. Students suggested that they would feel more comfortable if each character in the role-play consisted of two or three students. This would reduce the stress associated with one person having to field all questions with the additional benefit of having all students involved