By Jiaxin Wu
In his Spring 2019 “HIST 201 Methods of Historical Research” course at Duke Kunshan University (DKU), Dr. Zach Fredman, Assistant Professor of History, used a role-playing game to model the 1945 Yalta Conference. To understand his innovative teaching method, the Center for Teaching and Learning at DKU interviewed Dr. Fredman regarding the rationale behind, and the implementation of, the immersion game in his course.
Why study history at all?
“HIST 201 Methods of Historical Research” course aims to develop historical thinking. As Prof. Fredman explains, “We do this by exploring how historians construct their histories and by examining the usefulness of history as a way of thinking critically about the relationship between past and present.” The course is especially designed for students considering a disciplinary focus in history, but open to anyone with an interest in history. In Spring 2019, seven students enrolled in this course.
Through the seven weeks, students in HIST 201 read and analyzed foundational primary and secondary sources. They also wrote reflective responsepaper, a primary source analysis paper based on their speech at the Yalta Conference, and a biography of the Republican Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek. To further craft students’ persuasive arguments and engage with historical narratives, Prof. Fredman introduced the “Reacting to the Past” role-playing game to the class.
Winston Churchill, Franklin D Roosevelt and Jospeh Stalin sit for photographs during the Yalta Conference in February 1945.
Why do role-playing games work?
Role-playing games stimulate real systems and their corresponding rules. Through means of simulating different scenarios, they offer the opportunity to experience long-term effects of different decisions and to discuss about optimal use of limited resources.
Role-playing gaming as part of curriculum has been widely acknowledged in academic settings for all ages from elementary and secondary school through college level (Hawkes-Robinson, 2011)1 and implemented in a broad range of disciplines, including language arts, mathematics & statistics, and history.
Philips (1994) states, “Because role-playing games are language-centered communication games, they have a definite positive effect on student socialization skills and language development which are central to role-playing games.”2
Gamification in the learning process not only motivates students to actively engage in the activity, but also brings it closer to objective and social conditions of a future professional activity. A study conducted by Burenkova et al. (2015) showed that motivation in role-playing improves and students’ education quality, including motivation maturity in an educational process, proficiency, and an ability to set and achieve goals.3 Also, participants of the role-playing games are often inspired to learn how to research in specific areas of knowledge.
How does a historical role-playing game work?
Prof. Fredman was introduced to the Reacting to the Past Consortium at a conference. The Consortium developed and published the “Reacting to the Past” series of role-playing games for higher education. “Yalta, 1945” is one of the games in development, exploring the three-party diplomacy between the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union during the Yalta Conference. In the game, players take the roles of real stakeholders. By giving the players certain freedom of decision-making, alternative behaviors, and decisions as well as their consequences can be observed (SAGSAGA, 2017).4
Students enrolled in the course were informed of the role-playing game at the first class meeting. After spending a few class sessions getting to know the strengths and weaknesses of his students, Prof. Fredman selected roles for students to split the “best” speakers. Then in the model conference, three students represented the United States, two the Soviet Union and the last two Great Britain. The class spent one week in preparation. All the teams got the same source list compiled by the instructor and each team was given some secret documents or a special power. Then, the following two class meetings (about 4-5 hours) were used to model the conference. Students also had the chance to negotiate and resolve problems on their own in-between class meetings.
In the role-playing game, students had to prepare a formal speech and two shorter speeches. Students were scored both as a team and individually. Prof. Fredman designed the rubrics to score the entire game with some sub-categories such as team victory, individual victory, formal speech, presentation of primary source, mini-speeches, gameplay, and resolution of all issues. Under each category, detailed scales and description have been developed to measure and provide feedback on the students’ performance.
Student feedback
The role-playing game received positive feedback from students. Like any good inquiry-based approach, it transforms the content of education from information into experience and gives students an opportunity to look at the material they are learning in a new light. Students in the class found it an exciting and eye-opening way to learn international history. They were able to role-play fascinating and important historical figures, such as Soviet Premier Josef Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Playing these characters required extensive research of speeches, meeting notes, and memoirs written by these historical figures. However, the challenge and excitement of playing the game made the reading time pass quickly. By playing the game, students also improved teamwork, negotiation, and problem-solving skills.
References
- Hawkes-Robinson, W. A. (2011). Role-playing Games Used as Educational and Therapeutic Tools for Youth and Adults. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237074784_Role-playing_Games_Used_as_Educational_and_Therapeutic_Tools_for_Youth_and_Adults
- Philips, B. D. (1994). Role-playing games in the English as a Foreign Language Classroom. Taipei: Crane Publishing Ltd.
- Burenkova, O. M., Arkhipova, I. V., Semenov, S. A., & Samarenkina, S. Z. (2015). Motivation within Role-Playing as a Means to Intensify College Students’ Educational Activity. International Education Studies, 8(6), 211-216.
- SAGSAGA. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.sagsaga.org/index.php
Faculty Introduction
Zach Fredman
Assistant professor of history, Duke Kunshan University
Dr. Fredman’s research focus is U.S.-China relations. He has carried out extensive archival research in China, with work published in the Journal of Modern Chinese History, Frontiers of History in China, Diplomatic History, Diplomacy and Statecraft, Modern American History and The Washington Post. His teaching interests at Duke Kunshan include China studies, U.S. studies, institutions and governance, and public policy.
Dr. Fredman’s book, which is forthcoming with University of North Carolina Press, examines the U.S. military presence in China during the 1940s. In 2017, he received the Edward M. Coffman First Book Manuscript Prize from the Society for Military History and the Betty M. Unterberger Dissertation Prize from the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations.
Fredman has a B.A. in history from the University of Arizona, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Boston University. Prior to joining Duke Kunshan, he held postdoctoral fellowships at Dartmouth College (2017-18) and Nanyang Technological University (2016-17).
