Making a Scene Out of Learning - the Value of Improvisation
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Of course our students like a good chat, so why not channel that enthusiasm into a talking and learning activity. Some of my most enjoyable lessons last year involved students improvising and acting out scenes to demonstrate business and economic theory…
In 2’s or 3’s students were given an imaginary situation and then a context to quickly improvise and discuss. It is a good idea to vary the settings as this enables a different type of conversation. Settings included a business meeting, a family living room, an economics conference, a coffee bar, and a development conference ….although a pub discussion is always a favourite.
It works best when it is fast as this enables genuine improvisation. Each group normally has a go at each context although of course groups could specialise on a situation. Last year when reviewing inflation AS students acted out
• People sat in a pub chatting about what inflation means and why the rate might be rising
• A family meal where the impact of inflation is discussed
• Two directors in a manufacturing business discussing how rising inflation might make a difference to them
• An economics student explaining to a non economics student the difference between cost push and demand pull
• Two economists arguing about whether inflation or deflation is more serious.
The beauty is that this activity can be applied to almost any business or economics topic. It gets the students out of their seats and gets brains ticking and processing . Most students will be delighted to demonstrate their scenes to their peers and ultimately it’s a pleasant alternative to writing. In my humble opinion talking is great for learning so I’ll definitely be giving it another go next year.
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