Developing a Role-playing Strategy for Enhancing Self-determination - Term Paper Example

 Role Play for Self Determination 1. Introduction This assignment consists of two parts: First part consists of developing a role play strategy for enhancing self determination in a disabled subject while the second part consists of a leisure skill activity plan based on the specific interest of the same subject. A brief introduction of important concepts in the assignment is given below: 1.1 Role Play: Role Play is a psychological technique derived from psychodrama that is not only used in counseling but also serves as a vehicle for learning. The subjects are assigned roles or situations and are asked to act accordingly for a while. According to Blanter (1995), role play is the best technique to teach communication, problem solving, self awareness and teamwork. 1.2 Self Determination: According to Campbell (2008), the term ‘self determination’ includes awareness, perception, self support, understanding, self respect, acceptance, empowerment, management of self and adjustment. Self Determination theory is based on the principle that people have an innate organizational tendency towards growth, self integration and resolution of any psychological inconsistency (Deci, 2000; Cited in Markland et.al, 2005). 1.3 Role of Self determination in lives of Dyslexics: Dyslexia is basically a reading and writing disorder. In this condition, the subjects have a unique kind of neuron wiring in the brain that causes an unusual pattern of reading and writing (Hultquist, 2008). Many investigative studies have reported that a strong relationship exists between self determination and high GPAs among the learning disabled individuals including dyslexics (Shaw, 2003). 1.4 Leisure Skills Development: Leisure skills help children and adults in making their free time productive. With help of properly planned leisure, they can actually learn to live more organized lives and make use of all the spare hours they have (Indiana Education, 2010). 1.5 Subject Particulars: The subject selected for this assignment is a 12 years old female, studying in grade four, who has mild dyslexia and is a below average student academically. She belongs to a middle class family and lives with a single, working mother who works at a small restaurant where she is the second chef. She has many friends but only one really close friend. The subject is also quite attached to a maternal aunt who lives three blocks away from her house. PART ONE: Self Determination Role Play The lesson plans below have been devised to enhance self determination in the dyslexic subject via role play. These four different lesson plans focus on three different components of self determination namely: Awareness/Perception, Self Regulation/Adjustment, Self support and empowerment. Lesson Plan 1: Target: To develop self awareness and perception of self in the subject. Activities: The subject will be asked to make a list about her dyslexic symptoms and problems she faces due to them. She will then be briefed about the condition completely by the teacher who can use the power point presentation (appendix II) for briefing purposes. This should address what dyslexia is and how it affects the lives of individuals. After wards she will take up the role of a doctor, who has to brief a group of dyslexics about dyslexia, and the problems that patients might face due to it. Measuring the Outcomes: The teacher will again conduct a role play and provide the subject with a situation. In the situation she will be asked to introduce herself, describe her disability and explain how it hinders her in school work. The subject should by now have a better self perception. Lesson Plan 2: Target: To teach adjustment and self regulation. Activities: The subject will be assigned various roles along with critical situations where control will be needed. The teacher will assist in this role play, assuming the role assigned to the subject where needed to teach self regulation. The situations provided must be control demanding like: you are an employee in a big firm and you have failed to produce a document on time and you have to inform your supervisor, or something like: a friend’s mother has died and you have to break the news to her. Adjustment can be taught by using situations like: you are at a new school and some girls are making fun of you, or you are in a new town and have visited a huge super store for the first time where you are unable to find certain items and need them urgently. Measuring the Outcome: The outcomes of this learning activity will be measured by an independent role play. The teacher will provide the subject with a critical or novel situation and the subject will play the role without any assistance. This will show the extent of learning in the subject. Lesson Plan 3: Target: To enhance self support and self induced empowerment. Activities: The teacher will provide role play scenarios that require completing a task with limited resources, in limited time and without any assistance. These activities will include: To play the role of a decorator who needs to decorate a room in one hour with limited given material (buntings, tape, balloons etc) and enactment of the role of a person who is being forced by her parents to buy a green dress and she has to convince them that she doesn’t like green, she like the pink dress. Another activity in this plan can be to act out the role of a student who want to study literature but is being forced to study biology by her teacher. Measuring the Outcome: The outcome of this activity can be measured by asking the subject to act the role of a person who is trying to convince her parents that she will have a good career in the restaurant line if they allow her to join in a cookery course, for which she aims to pay by joining some restaurant as a waitress. PART TWO: Leisure Skills Plan An interest inventory developed by Melton (2009) was administered on the subject to identify the areas of interest. The results revealed a strong interest in cooking. The following plan for leisure skills has been devised keeping in view this basic interest of the subject. The subject reported that she has almost three hours leisure every day and five hours on weekends. The leisure skills development plan is therefore as follows. Monday: Search the internet for a nice appealing recipe that seems interesting to cook, and note down the recipe in a note book. Tuesday: Open the recipes dug out on Monday; select and mark one recipe for which all the required materials are available at home. Find replacements in home for materials that are unavailable. Wednesday: Try the recipe that was marked. Make sure all instructions are followed to the book. Ask other people at home to taste it and note down there feed back in your note book. Thursday: Try the same recipe with some innovations. Try to be as creative as you can and note down the changes you made in your notebook along with the new feedback from those who taste it for you. Friday: Go through the list of what you have cooked so far and identify something that you have never dared trying but you would love to cook. Search for a recipe for that dish and note it down, and make sure that you have all materials you need for it by Saturday. Saturday: invite a friend who has similar interests and with whom you are comfortable with. Try out the recipe searched on Friday together. Write a self-feedback on how it turned out and how you both believe it could have been better. Sunday: Spend the leisure time with either your aunt who bakes a lot or with your mother who cooks for the household. Try to learn from then as much as you can and ask them to talk about their experiences while cooking when they were young. Make notes of any precious kitchen tip that you learn from their talk. References Blanter, A. (1995). Role playing in education. Retrieved from: http://www.blatner.com/adam/pdntbk/rlplayedu.htm on November 30th, 2010. Campbell, G.D. (2008). Teaching students about their disabilities. International journal of special education. Vol.23 (2). Hulquist, A.M. (2008). What is dyslexia? London: Jessica Kinsley publishers. p. 51-57. Indiana Education. (2010). Discover Leisure Education. Retrieved from: http://www.indiana.edu/~nca/leisureed/find.html on November 30th, 2010. Markland, D; Ryan, R.M & Tobin, V.J. (2005). Motivational interviewing and self determination theory. Journal of social and clinical psychology. Vol. 24 (6), p. 811-831 Melton, J. (2009). Interest Inventory. Kid Bibs. Retrieved from:  http://www.kidbibs.com/learningtips/inventory.htm on November 30th, 2010. Shaw, S. F; Sarver, M.D & Field, S. (2003). Self-Determination A Key to Success in Postsecondary Education for Students with Learning Disabilities.[Abstract]. Remedial and special education. Vol. 31 (6). Appendix I Interest Inventory 1.  After school, I like to sleep. 2.  On weekends, I like to cook something independently. 3.  I like to collect unique leaves. 4.  I like to learn about different people. 5.  I like to read about cooking tips. 6.  I like to write about my day at school. 7.  My favorite book is Famous five series by Enid Blyton. 8.  My favorite toy is my tiny tea set and stuffed sponge bob. 9.  My favorite sport is badminton. 10.  My favorite TV program is Hanna Montana show. 11.  My favorite movie is High school musical. 12.  My favorite game is pinball. 13.  I like to make pasta, lemonade, brownies and fritters. 14.  My pet is a (I don’t have one.) 15.  My favorite person to play with is Tina.  With this friend I like to mess around in the kitchen. 16.  With my other friends, I like to play badminton and card games when it’s rainy. 17.  My favorite person to visit is my aunt.  With this person, I like to Top and garnish the cookies in her tall jar with her cream gun. 18.  My favorite fun place is Fun house. 19.  When I grow up, I want to be a chef. 20.  If I could have three wishes, I would wish for:         1. Being smart at school work         2.  Ms. White to teach all subjects         3.  My own cream gun KidBibs International www.kidbibs.com © Dr. Joyce Melton Pagés Appendix II: Power point presentation available for public viewing at: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/milner4660-199878-symptoms-dyslexia-parents-students-disability-education-ppt-powerpoint/ Read More