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TILT program: TILT SoTL Project

Principal Investigator: John-Henry Harter, lecturer, Department of History and Labour Studies, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences

Project team: Marcelo Espinoza and Brittany Dennett, TILT research assistants

Timeframe: December 2024 to March 2026

Funding: Up to 180 TILT research assistant hours

Course addressed:

• HIST 102W -  Canada since Confederation
• LBST 101 - Work and Worker's Rights: Introducing Labour Studies

Final report: View John-Henry Harter's final report (PDF)

Description: For years, role plays, games, and simulations have been part of John-Henry鈥檚 Labour Studies and History classrooms, generating excellent discussions and strong student engagement. However, this assessment relied on anecdotal evidence rather than systematic investigation. This SoTL project moved beyond instructor intuition to an investigation of what students actually gained from these pedagogical approaches and whether role plays genuinely enhance understanding of course material.

The project investigated role-playing activities across two introductory courses using the same set of activities to teach parallel concepts about class struggle and working-class resistance. Through systematic analysis of student reflections collected across both courses, the research identified two major themes in how students experienced these activities: active and inclusive learning, and deep learning. Students reported that role plays increased their engagement with course content, supported different learning styles, enabled deeper reflection on material, and helped simplify complex concepts that might otherwise remain abstract.

The findings demonstrate that role-playing activities, though often overlooked in university settings, provide valuable pedagogical benefits. Students appreciated that role plays accommodated different ways of learning and allowed them to engage with historical and contemporary content in ways that traditional lectures alone could not achieve. The project data confirms what had been instructor intuition with systematic evidence, showing that role plays aid both active learning (through engagement and inclusivity) and deep learning (through reflection and conceptual simplification). These findings have informed how the instructor incorporates role playing across all courses and has generated significant interest among colleagues in History and Labour Studies programs.

Questions addressed:

• What is the impact of role plays on student learning in History and Labour Studies courses?
• What were students' key takeaways from role-playing activities?
• Do role plays help students better understand course material about class struggle and working-class resistance?
• How do role plays reinforce concepts taught through traditional lecture and reading-based instruction?

Knowledge sharing: The project was disseminated extensively through both formal presentations and informal collegial conversations. Three major formal presentations have shared the research: a Public Lecture at 天美mv天美 Burnaby (April 2025, 87 attendees in-person and online), a workshop at the Canadian Association of Work and Labour Studies conference at McMaster University (May 2025), and a presentation at the Canadian Committee on Labour History conference at Universit茅 du Qu茅bec 脿 Montr茅al (November 2025). These presentations generated substantial engagement, with many attendees indicating they would adopt this pedagogical tool or sharing their own experiences with role play. The instructor has received emails from colleagues who tried role plays after these presentations. An article detailing the project and findings is in final stages of submission to The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CJSoTL), co-authored with TILT research assistant Marcelo Espinoza. A workshop is planned for the Canadian History Association meeting (June 2026). The research has generated significant interest in the instructor's department and program about TILT and pedagogical research more broadly. 

Keywords: role play pedagogy, experiential learning, labour history, active learning, deep learning, inclusive pedagogy, simulation exercises, class struggle, working-class resistance, engagement strategies