Pandemic Pedagogy II: Conducting Simulations and Role Plays in Online, Video-Based, Synchronous Courses

The goal of this paper is to continue to support teachers as they transition their classroom-based courses to an online, synchronous, video-based format in response to recent campus closures resulting from the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, which has rendered classroom gatherings unsafe.Written with teachers in the fields of negotiation, mediation, conflict management and dispute resolution in mind, this paper addresses these fields’ central teaching tool: conducting simulations and role plays. However, the paper will also be helpful for teachers in fields such as business, nursing, law, social work, education and others, who also utilize simulations as a teaching tool. While our focus is on negotiation and mediation simulations, our suggestions should remain valid across many simulated processes, such as patient interviewing, client counseling, coaching, student advising, etc. We will note minor tweaks required for simulating other conflict resolution processes; teachers in other fields can consider how they might tweak our guidance to support simulations in other areas.For a paper on more basic issues to consider in transitioning classroom courses online, see https://ssrn.com/abstract=3552124