Role-play is a pedagogical approach that has been used in a wide variety of contexts and content areas (Rao & Stupans, 2012). It has been studied (in terms of its effectiveness) since the 1970s; however, it has been only in the last couple of decades that it has been recognized as being better placed than more traditional teaching methods to meet the needs of students in academia (see Rosa, 2012, and Bobbit et. al., 2001).

Studies have shown that by applying skills they have acquired theoretically, students make deeper connections with the teaching material (McEwen, et. al., 2014; Johnson & Johnson, 1997). Though role-playing students practice empathy and perspective taking, resulting in increased levels of self-reflection and awareness (Westrup & Planander, 2013; Sogunro, 2004). Moreover, role-play can result in the behavioural change of students and empowering them to identify best practices for real life situations (Beard, et. al., 1995). Setting up a role-play activity may require a significant investment in time necessary to properly prepare and the pedagogical and in content knowledge acquisition needed to execute it efficiently (see House et. al., 1983; Ments, 1989). However, the benefits can far outweigh the effort.

The author was delivering professional development offerings (formal and informal) to academics (early career mostly) when the COVID-19 crisis led to the closure of Irish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in mid-March of 2020. The emergency transition from in-person to remote, online forms of teaching and learning meant that a module on supervision of undergraduate (UG) dissertations and projects had to be redesigned to - among other objectives - help enhance online practices and approaches sought by undergraduate (UG) supervisors in the current climate. As part of that re-design the author decided to employ role-play in an attempt to allow participants (early career academics) to apply the theoretical content through a more authentic lens. The role-play activity was taken seriously by the participants and was seen favourably, because they were forced to tackle a potential scenario from their supervisory practice from the perspective of an academic and then from the perspective of a student.

The literature suggests that traditional forms of assessment are seen by students/participants as artificial, not sufficiently aligned to common practices and as uninteresting. It is sometimes difficult for them to see the point of what they are learning (e.g. see, Struyven, Dochy, and Janssens, 2003). The author would like to explore whether role-playing can be more than just a fun activity for participants, but rather be a more authentic form of assessment for academic professional development. To that end, he will present findings from evaluation forms for a professional development short course that he will deliver to early career researchers in January of 2022. The focus will be on the artefacts that are going to be created (discussion protocols), whether they are closely linked to their work, whether they are developed in a manner that they will produce efficient discussions, thus knowledge that is applied in an analytical and thoughtful way (Benner et al. 2009; Raymond et al. 2013).

The author initially used the role play as a teaching technique with early career academics who were undertaking a professional development module on Research Supervision. He was trying to convey the theoretical knowledge presented through the literature in a more practical and applicable fashion. He gathered anecdotal evidence on its benefits and effectiveness in doing that from informal discussions with the participants and in-directly from the evaluation form (there was no specific question on the role play but some info was presented through the "Other comments" last question. Now the author is using the role with Early Career Researchers in a course which is part of a Certificate in University Teaching and Learning. This time, the role-play is not merely an activity but the main part of the assessment of the course. The participants will take on the role of a facilitator and also of a student. The first part will be a Role-play of a discussion on a topic they have chosen from a list of potential broad ideas. They will be divided into small groups (3-4) and facilitate the discussion with the rest of their group and devise a grading system for student engagement. Their peers will offer them feedback through a rubric. Each participant will write a 500-1000 word reflective piece on the role-play based on self-reflection and the peer feedback. They will also complete the course evaluation form which contains specific questions on the role-play, which will inform the future direction of the course, including how best to utilize role-playing. Early drafts of the directly relevant questions are as follows: Q3. How appropriate was the role-play as the main form of assessment, on a scale of 1 (very appropriate) – 5 (very inappropriate) Q4. Were the guidelines for the role-play sufficiently clear / insufficiently clear Q5. Any suggestions for improvement of the role-play? More data could be reveled through other open ended questions

As was mentioned above, the author has utilized role-play as an activity in a previous professional development module on academic supervision. That module was delivered to early career academics, with little to no previous supervision experience with undergraduate students. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the activity was seen as novel, fun and that it mimicked to a certain extent a real supervisory interaction. Moreover, a study was carried out with lecturers representing a range of Scottish Further Education (FE) colleges, who were in a work-based professional learning course. Findings suggest that almost half of the participants felt that role-playing allowed them to appreciate others views and multiple perspectives. They also pointed out that by sharing their thoughts, they learned more, and got confirmation from the other participants’ contributions of their feelings and views. The author is looking forward to receiving the evaluations of the short course, to determine whether the role-play was seen as an appropriate form of assessment, and whether it will be helpful for their desire to have discussion-based sessions in their future teaching practice.

•Benner, P., Sutphen, M., Leonard, V. & Day, L. (2009). Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass •Beard, R.L., Salas, E., & Prince, C. (1995). Enhancing transfer of training: Using role-play to foster teamwork in the cockpit. The International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 5(2), 131-143. •Bobbit, L.M., Inks, S.A., Kemp, K.J. & Mayo, D.T. (2000). Integrating marketing courses to enhance team-based experiential learning. Journal of Marketing Education, 22(1), 15-24. •House, R.J., Schuler, R.S. & Levanoni, E. (1983). Role conflict and ambiguity scales: Reality or artifact?. Journal of Applied Psychology, 68, 334-337. •Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, F.P. (1997). Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills, 6th ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. •McEwen, L., Stokes, A., Crowley, K. & Roberts, C. (2014). Using role-play for expert science communication with professional stakeholders in flood risk management. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 38:2, 277-300 •Ments, M.V. (1989), The Effective Use of Role-play: A Handbook for Teachers and Trainers, rev. ed. London: Kogan Page. •Rao, D. & Stupans, I. (2012). Exploring the potential of role play in higher education: development of a typology and teacher guidelines. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 49(4), 427-436. •Raymond, J., Homer, C., Smith, R. & Gray, J. (2013). Learning through Authentic Assessment: An Evaluation of a New Development in the Undergraduate Midwifery Curriculum. Nurse Education in Practice, 13 (5), 471–476 •Rosa, J.A. (2012). Marketing education for the next four billion: Challenges and innovations. Journal of Marketing Education, 34(1), 44-54. •Sogunro, O.A. (2004). Efficacy of role-playing pedagogy in training leaders: Some reflections. Journal of Management Development, 23(4), 355-371. •Struyven, K., Dochy, F., & Janssens, S. (2003). Students’ perceptions about new modes of assessment: a review. In M. Segers, F. Dochy, & E. Cascallar (Eds.), Optimizing New Modes of Assessment: In Search of Qualities and Standards (pp. 171- 223). Kluwer. •Westrup, U. & Planander, A. (2013). Role-play as a pedagogical method to prepare students for practice: The students’ voice. Ogre utbildning, 3(3), 199-210.