Role-Playing as a Teaching Strategy in IB Chemistry: A Mixed-Method Study

Abstrak

Drama pedagogy, particularly role-playing, offers promise for making abstract chemical concepts tangible through embodied learning. However, evidence for its effectiveness across different age groups remains limited, especially in multilingual International Baccalaureate (IB) contexts. This mixed-methods study investigated when and how role-playing effectively supports learning of abstract chemical concepts, examining developmental readiness as a critical factor. Seventy-eight students (66 Grade 9, 12 Grade 12) from an international school in Shenzhen, China participated. A between-subjects design with Grade 9 students compared role-playing (n=44) against conventional instruction (n=22) for chemical reaction types. A within-subjects design with Grade 12 students examined role-playing for nucleophilic substitution mechanisms. Data included achievement tests, motivation/engagement surveys, 30 student interviews, and 10 systematic lesson observations. For Grade 9, the experimental groups who received role-playing showed negligible achievement gains compared to the control group who received conventional instruction (d = 0.022), despite high behavioural engagement and enjoyment. For Grade 12, where all students served as their own controls in a pre-post design, role-playing produced very large improvements in understanding reaction mechanisms (Cohen's dz = 1.209, p = .002). English proficiency significantly predicted achievement (η² = .220) but did not moderate intervention effects. The two cohorts are not directly comparable due to differences in topic, design, sample size, and assessment. The Zone of Pedagogical Receptivity (ZPR) is presented only as a speculative hypothesis for future investigation; it is not a finding of this study. Findings challenge assumptions that engaging pedagogies necessarily improve outcomes, offering evidence-based guidance for implementing drama in chemistry education.