If you are struggling to come up with a scenario that you could use for this section, here is one to get you started:
There is a possibility of a new skate park being built in Newcastle City Centre. It would be accessible to all, well-built and a fantastic place for young people to exercise, socialise and be outdoors. However, the proposed site of the new skate park is St James’ Park. Stadiums can always be re-built elsewhere but is the history of that place more important than a facility for the city’s young people?
Play the video below to help you further expand on your scenario.
Video Text
What role will the facilitator be? It needs to be a character who would have knowledge of the situation but who could conceivably be lower status than the characters the students are playing.
It is not essential during the DE to embody your role fully and ‘disappear into your character’. If you feel confident in doing this, feel free to do so. But if you feel more comfortable simply being yourself but with a different name and position, that will also work well.
Who are the students? They need to be endowed in-role as high status experts – like the Fizziwig ‘Pigxperts’.
Being high status empowers them to discuss the issues more freely without the usual check-ins with the teacher that they are saying the ‘right thing’. It also forces them to explore and make the difficult choices themselves.
Exercise
Spend a few minutes now thinking about the roles of the participants and the facilitator in your enquiry and write these down.
