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NCTE, 2009: High School Students Uses of Online-Role Play to Debate and Address Issues Portrayed in Literature
Richard Beach, University of Minnesota,
Student: “It’s fun to create a character instead of writing a story, it’s your character being written into a story.”
Related writings:
Beach, R., Anson, C., Teaching Writing Using Blogs, Wikis, and Other Digital Tools, Christopher Gordon Publishers: resource site on digital writing: http://digitalwriting.pbwiki.com
Beach, R., & Doerr-Stevens, C. (2009). Learning argument practices through online role-play: toward a rhetoric of significance and transformation. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(6), 460–468. http://tinyurl.com/d8voac
Steps involved in creating an online role-play with a literary text:
1. Select an issue or topic portrayed in a text with conflicting, alternative perspectives that students could subscribe to (versus an issue or topic about which students have unanimous opinions—to avoid a one-sided debate.) Students should be relatively familiar with this issue or topic--These issues or topics could be tied to competing perspectives portrayed in a novel or associated with an issue facing the students’ school or community.
2. Formulate a primary argument, thesis, or position statement that would ultimately be decided by a group of students—a school board, city council, jury, legislators, group of voters, students themselves, etc. For example, you could hold a censorship school board hearing related to a parent’s complaint about the book students are reading and the school board would have to decide on whether to censor the book .
3. Share background information on a wiki related to the issue or topic; have students contribute their own additional information to the wiki from the text both about the issue and the text.
4. Select roles related to these different perspectives on the primary argument the issue or topic—pro or con, as well as an avatar or pseudonym for their role for use on a blog or Ning/Moodle. These roles should be equally divided related to pro/con positions.
5. Conduct research related to their position on the issue or topic. Students should be asked to provide evidence from their research on an issue as well as quotes from the text to support for their positions that they can link to in their posts.
6. Post arguments on a classroom blog or Ning/Moodle asynchronous, threaded on-line forum. A Ning or Moodle forum platform is preferable because students can post arguments and counter-arguments in a threaded format. This exchange could occur during one class or over an extended time period. Students attempt to convince others to subscribe to their positions to build coalitions and alliances; formulate counter-arguments to competing positions they receive, and appeal to members of the group making a final decision to vote in a certain manner.
6. Create “argument diagrams” using digital maps such as Inspiration or bubbl.us where they map the different roles located according to specific arguments (pro vs. con) on the map as a rhetorical landscape. They could also rate roles according to perceive power and/or rhetorical effectiveness. (see Marttunen, M., & Laurinen, L. (2007). Collaborative learning through chat discussions and argument diagrams in secondary school. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 40(1), 109–126.)
7. After the role-play concludes, step out of their roles and reflect on:
- the arguments they employed and the effectiveness of those arguments
- the language, information, and images they employed in creating their roles.
- their perceptions of the roles with the most versus least power and reasons for differences in power.
- their feelings about their particular role the overall role-play related to their sense of agency.
- how their personal beliefs influenced the beliefs they espoused in their role.
- any changes in their positions or beliefs during the role-play
8. Option: Students could then use the role-play material as prewriting to write their own persuasive essays based on their own and others’ arguments formulated during the role-play, including their reflections on the validity and persuasiveness of certain arguments.
Other online sites related to teaching persuasive writing:
Ink, developed at Michigan State University (http://writing.msu.edu/ink/research.htm) to teach composition, including persuasive writing involved in addressing issues; described in Sheridan, D. M., & Hart-Davidson, W. (2098). Just for fun: Writing and literacy learning as forms of play. Computer & Composition, 25(3), 258-269
The Persuasive Games site (www.persuasivegames.com), Democracy, (positech.co.uk/democracy/faq.html), A Force More Powerful (www.afmpgame.com), Peacemaker (www.peacemakergame.com) involves use of persuasive writing in games to address conflicts or political issues.
LittleBigPlanet (www.littlebigplanet.com), Fallout 3 (http://fallout.bethsoft.com/index.html), and Global Warming Interactive, (www.globalwarminginteractive.com/game.htm) deal with environmental issues.
The Our Courts project that involve students in arguing legal positions in virtual courts http://tinyurl.com/5pxvkw
Debatepedia (http://wiki.idebate.org), a wikipedia organized around pro–con arguments.
Debategraph (http://debatemapper.com) uses wikis used to display arguments on various current issues.
Opposing Views (www.opposingviews.com) provides experts’ opinions on topics such as the Electoral College, legalizing marijuana, prayer in schools, legalize gambling, the death penalty, etc.
What Percent: Users vote on their opinions on current issues or questions http://www.whatpercent.com/
Own Your C: Users votes on issue statements http://www.ownyourc.com
The New York Times: Room for Debate: Experts debate certain issues http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/welcome-to-room-for-debate/
Literary Worlds virtual worlds site for commonly-taught literary texts (Midsummer Nights Dream, Brave New World, Things Fall Apart, Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, and 1984): http://www.literaryworlds.org described in Robert Rozema and Allen Webb’s book, Literature and the Web: Reading and Responding with New Technologies, Heinemann.
The New Worlds Project: Sci-Fi Creative Writing and Role-Play
http://www.rpgnewworlds.net/news.php
Online role-plays conducted in Elizabeth Boeser’s College Writing class, Jefferson High School, Bloomington, MN
Text: Montana 1948 (Larry Watson): novel portraying racism towards Native Americans in a
small, Montana town in the late 1940s.
University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux mascot debate
http://roleplaymascots.blogspot.com/
http://mascotroleplay.blogspot.com/
Course Website: http://missboeser.googlepages.com/montana1948
Wiki: students shared information about the novel: http://jhscollegewritingmontana.pbworks.com
The students read background material about the legalities of the issue having to do with the fact that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) had issued a ruling barring UND from using this mascot, a ruling that UND was challenging in court. A settlement was reached whereby within the next three years, UND had to seek approval from two of the major Sioux North Dakota tribes to use the mascot, or else it would not longer be used.
Underlying this legal dispute over the use of the “Fighting Sioux” mascot is a larger issue of the use of derogatory mascot name that reifies negative media stereotypes of Native Americans. Countering this critique is the position that the use of the mascot name does not in itself constitute a derogatory statement about Native Americans.
To foster a sense of investment in the mascot issue that did not directly impact her students, she assigned roles for the online role-play based on the characters in the novel who as well as other related roles associated with the debate: the UND President, members of the Sioux tribe, students on the hockey team, the owner of the Washington Redskins, etc. Rather than treating a blog as simply an isolated, electronic notebook for recording their descriptions of schools to subject to her for a grade, students in Elizabeth’s class were actively engaged in a role-play space that involved reading and commenting on each other’s positions.
Blog Posts
On the blog, (roleplaymascots.blog; for a Spring, 2008 version: mascotroleplay.blogspot.com) students created bios to describe their roles based on biographical research about their roles or by drawing on their reading of Montana 1948.
The Native American novelist, Louise Erdrich:
recently turned down an honorary degree from UND because of the mascot issue. I turned it down because I believe that having their mascot a Sioux Indian is very disrespectful to the tribes. I think that changes need to be made in order to respect the tribes.
The character, Gloria Hayden, Frank Hayden’s wife in the novel:
I agree with getting rid of the logo. I find it offensive to the Native American culture. I think the Sioux tribe should be celebrated and not be used as a mascot for a team called the Fighting Sioux. If people see this as a way to honor them, there are better ways. Native Americans have been through many hardships in their life and this should not be another burden for them to carry. There are different mascots the team can have. I am a firm believer in banning the mascot of the fighting Sioux.
The role of a white female student at UND:
I love going to the hockey games and hanging out with friends. I myself play on the North Dakota volleyball team. The teachers and academics are amazing here in North Dakota. The school is beautifully portrayed in the great city of Grand Forks. The students are friendly and welcoming. I am very proud of our school and I believe that our mascot should stay. It is a huge part of our state’s history and I think it proudly represents the Sioux people in our community. GO FIGHTING SIOUX!
Winona Yepa, a Native American woman:
As a Native American woman, I am also very offended by the name "redskins". Perhaps your name should be changed to Washington ”Whitetrash" then perhaps you could see why I feel the way I do about the name. We are native American's, not redskins. I find it to be a very offensive name. At least NDSU has enough respect for Native Americans to address us properly as "Sioux" the fighting part is debatable but they don't refer to us as "redskins". We have names.
Student Reflections on the Online Role-Play
- I feel like the role play was a really good idea and we got to talk about an interesting issue that is real and that is going on right now…I liked seeing the sides of all different people and what they thought about the issue…I thought that it was a lot easier then what it might have been if we did it in person. We could share our opinions without maybe getting into a heated discussion that might have ended badly. I also liked that we had a bio that people read so they knew where we came from and why we thought the things we did.
- I’m really glad that we did it on a blog because it gives people a chance to really voice their opinions. Especially people who don’t say much in class. They can basically say whatever they want on their blog, because its not actually them talking. It’s their character. I would really like it if we could do it again for another book.
Text: The Perks of Being a Wallflower and issues of censorship
Censorship role-play: http://schooledthewriteway.blogspot.com/
http://wallfloweronline.blogspot.com/
http://charactershighschool.pbworks.com/
The PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association) of Maui High School is looking for feedback on the following book titles available to students through the school library and/or taught by the English department. Several parents and guardians have contacted school administrators about the questionable content and educational merit of these and other books. We strongly encourage you to discuss the content of these books with your peers and those connected with the school to evaluate the reasons we should keep them in (or remove them from) the school library and the curriculum. Without your feedback, we will not be able to effectively evaluate the arguments for and against keeping these books in our school. The list below includes, but does not represent all, the titles being challenged by our community, whose tax money is used to buy the books. You should communicate with at least five people (not including me) in this debate until January 16th, at which time, you will send me your final decision regarding how appropriate you feel these books are for high school students. Thank you. Sincerely, Marlys Anderson PTSA Secretary
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain for use of racist language.
Beloved by Toni Morrison due to sexual content including bestiality and both offensive and racist language
Black Boy by Richard Wright for vulgar language among other word choices and violent descriptions.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou for violence and sex.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote for sex, violence, and profanity
The Color Purple by Alice Walker for questionable lessons on morality, racism and sexuality.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini for extreme violence and objectionable sexual content.
Montana 1948 by Larry Watson for profanity and descriptions of nudity and sex crimes.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey due to glorifying pornography and criminal activity.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, for encouraging licentiousness, homosexuality, drug abuse and offensive language.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee for use of racial epithets.
PTSA: so after commenting and talking to a few people, my opinion changed very quickly. At first I was not real sure about what I thought of this banning of certain books in our schools English Department. However, after I talked to my peers like Sharpay, it made me realize how exposed people our age are to those types of things like drugs, sex, alcohol, etc. Especially in the books like Perks Of Being A Wallflower. In this book the main character is faced with many things, as there are a lot of students here going through similar situations. Even some adults, such as janiotors I spoke to feel that these books are good for our curriculum.
Thanks so much and I hope you take my opinion to thought when making your final decision!!
Dear Ms. Anderson,
I don't think that these books should be banned. I have talked to several other students and we all agree. While there are some mature scenes and language, I don't feel we should be sheltered from things that actually happen in the real world. In the Kite Runner, they fled from the Taliban, something that actually happened. In Montana 1948, there was sexual abuse, something that actually happens. In the Perks of Being a Wallflower, there is drug abuse and problems with friends, and that happens also in the real world. We are becoming well rounded people by learning about things that are happening outside of our lives, even though these books may be fiction.
Text: Little Brother (Doctorow, 2008) Free download: http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/ Portrays attempts by a young computer hacker, Charlie, to thwart attempts by the government to monitor citizens lives. Role-play Issue: Student access to blocked sites and privacy rights related to information posted on Facebook. Sites at Jefferson High School were being blocked. And, based on an incident at another local high school, students were suspended based on information about their drinking posted on Facebook.