6.3 Aine’s dilemma: group role play activity

In groups of four, form a team and allocate the following roles:

• Conor, the student
• Áine, the online educator
• Two observers (own names)

Team contract resource: Sample Team Contract

Role play: The activity requires you to act out what would occur in the call between Áine and Conor.

Observer 1 – Coordinator of the group. Obtain agreement of who is who within the team, arrange discussion of the team contract and get all to sign it, set and agree schedule of group work with the team.

Observer 2 – This person takes on a role as an observer of the process. This person should consider what she/he would say if she/he were Áine and create a tick box list. This tick box can used as part of the observation, i.e. is this what actually happened? In addition, the observer should make notes on how the group work element of the project works out, i.e. was the team contract adhered to?

Conor (Student) – You are aggrieved, you expected more support in the form of synchronous classes, and you are unhappy that the educator, Áine, pointed you to more ‘online resources’ and ‘rubrics’ when you complained. There is too much left to the students and Áine, the educator, does not teach you. She runs one tutorial every three weeks, which is far too few as far as you are concerned. For this discussion forum project, you want more instruction on how design factors are implemented in practice in order to be able to weigh them up. You have agreed to this call as you want to give voice to your concerns. You are going to be prepared, you will be armed with all the problems you have identified with this course. You are under pressure at work, you need to get the certification associated with the course, and you have a particularly busy home life at the moment.

Áine (Educator) – Áine hasn’t come across this situation before, students are usually happy once they receive a response to their complaints, and they like getting extra resources. Áine is not really sure what this student’s problem is. Áine is very unhappy that this seems to have split the group, though she suspects that part of the negativity from other students is to do with their current personal workload. And most of the other students seem to be getting on OK. Áine has reluctantly arranged to call the student, Conor, as she dislikes confrontation.

Suggested timings

Activity deliverables:

Team Contract, agreed and signed
Role Play video recording
Observers notes

Aines’s dilemma Áine – Suggested Response

Group work: In groups of four, form a team and allocate the following roles:

• Deirdre the institutional manager
• Áine the online educator
• Two observers (own names)

Role play: The activity requires you to act out what would occur in the call between Áine and Deirdre.

Observer 1 – Coordinator of the group. Obtain agreement of who is who within the team, arrange discussion of the team contract and get all to sign it, set and agree schedule of group work with the team.

Observer 2 – This person takes on a role as an observer of the process. This person should consider what she/he would say if she/he were Áine and create a tick box list. This tick box can used as part of the observation, i.e. is this what actually happened? In addition, the observer should make notes on how the group work element of the project works out, i.e. was the team contract adhered to?

Conor (Student) is aggrieved, he expected more support in the form of synchronous classes and is unhappy that the tutor pointed him to more ‘online resources’ and ‘rubrics’ after the initial complaint. There is too much left to the students, and Áine, the educator, does not teach. She runs one tutorial every three weeks, that is far too few as far as Conor is concerned. For this discussion forum project, Conor wants more instruction on how design factors are implemented in practice in order to be able to weigh them up. He is enraged that Áine has ignored him and told the project group to get on with the project without him. He wrote a letter of complaint to the relevant institutional body to complain about Áine and the course.

Deirdre (Institutional manager) – Deirdre has promised the student that she would look into the situation and get back to him within a few days. Deirdre knows Áine, the educator in question, she does a good job and Deirdre has never heard a complaint before. Deirdre does wonder, though, why Áine chose to ignore the student and encouraged the rest of the project team to move on without him. Deirdre has arranged a call with her to see how best to deal with the student.

Áine (Educator) – Áine hasn’t come across this situation before, students are usually happy once they receive a response to their complaints, and they like getting extra resources. Áine is not really sure what this student’s problem is and hates confrontation. As most of the other students seem to be getting on OK Áine told them to move on with the project without Conor. Now Conor has complained to Áine’s institutional manager, Deirdre, who has called her in to discuss what can be done about Conor. Áine wants to be prepared for this call as she knows that she is the expert on the ground.

Suggested timings

Activity deliverables:

Team Contract, agreed and signed
Role Play video recording
Observers notes

Aines’s dilemma Áine – Suggested Response