The Effectiveness of Using Role Play Strategy in Teaching History for Sixth-Grade Students
Abstract
The present study aimed to identify how the integration of roleplay in teaching methodologies enhances the learning activities, knowledge retention, and performance of students involved in grade six history lessons. A random sample for experimentation was drawn to form an experimental group, which would be taught through roleplaying, as opposed to a control group whose participants would be taught through traditional lectures. The treatment method is the quasi-experimental design in which both groups would be pretested and posttested regarding knowledge of specific historical events. Data collection tools in the present study were history achievement tests. The questionnaire was also used to capture students' and teachers' perceptions of the roleplay strategy. The findings showed that the experimental group did significantly better in all measured areas than the control group. Students in the roleplay group increased their posttest scores from 55% to 80%, a 25-point increase, while the control group increased only 7 points from 55% to 62%. One month after instruction, knowledge retention remained higher for the experimental group at 78% versus the control group at 55%. Also, through questionnaires, 85% of the students and 90% of the teachers believed that roleplay was more exciting and worked better than the conventional methods. The general inference from this finding is that roleplay is highly effective in enhancing participation, improving retention, and driving better academic performance in history learning.