Publish at December 17 2018 Updated October 21 2025
Philosophically, we could say that we all play roles. Indeed, without making radical changes in personality, we adapt to our environment whether it is the workplace or in the domestic sphere.
School, too, is intended to be a great theme where adults are placed in the shoes of instructors offering knowledge and children are placed in the shoes of students who must assimilate that knowledge. Yet they are rarely asked to take on any role other than that of learners. And yet, the advantages of playing another persona are unsuspected...
8 h 30. Lycée Østerskov, Denmark.
The residents of the school have just had breakfast after a series of exercises in the cold outside. We could believe that they are going to their classes. This would have been the case, but a murder has occurred. This is the fifth one this week. The Danish police authorities will not have to worry about it. The dead man is imaginary, as is his murderer. However, for the police, the time has come to continue investigating this serial killer.
The Chicago team is trying to identify the substance used by the assailant. To do so, they will have to analyze the different components of the liquid found. It could be caustic soda, but they would have to check the pH, the electrolysis, etc. Coincidentally, the Danish chemistry curriculum requires knowing all of its elements.
.Meanwhile, the Los Angeles group is busy à testing whether the latest suspect could be at the scene of this murder. They will have to calculate the time based on medical data and the presence of larvae at the crime scene. As if they had to solve a math problem. Fortunately the criminal will be arrested so that the school becomes a huge Roman square the following week.
You get the idea. At the Østerskov High School, the pedagogical approach is entirely based on the game of r&circle. Weekly, a theme is proposed to the students and the programs of different subjects follow. To achieve this, the teaching staff is divided into two groups. While one leads the game, the other prepares for the next week's adventure following the Danish curriculum.
.The initiative packs the élèves. Indeed, each week they perform totally different rôles. The atmosphere is also much less stressful. Here, there is no competition for grades and no judging of others. Everyone works in the same direction to achieve the goals of the story. This changes the game for teachers who are no longer seen as leçons but as guides to learning.
What was supposed to be a pedagogical experiment and a private school has turned into a project now supported 75% by the Danish state. Moreover, other schools in the country have wanted to imitate the Oslash Sterskov High School. It must be said that the school has achieved good results, even with the most difficult clients such as children with Asperger's syndrome or others with concentration problems or bullying. The fun, narrative method allows these teens to shine.
Can such a model be applied in other school systems like France, for example? And here is perhaps the biggest obstacle to this export: the school culture. Indeed, we had already discussed this theme but the French and Scandinavian approach to the game is very different.
In France, learning is seen as something serious where play has little place. Exactly the opposite of countries like Denmark. Moreover, at the Østerskov high school, it frequently happens that students and teachers play together on games like League of Legends or World of Warcraft. Board game workshops are even part of the school's daily routine. And while in France, mobile devices have been banned from classrooms, they are fully accepted during classes so that students can learn and advance in the scenarios.
The Danish model of replay might be the solution that blends narrative, game-based approach, and pedagogical material. But a real change is needed to make school culture more playful. Nevertheless, the increasing automation of the Oslash Sterskov high school allows us to offer a window on this Scandinavian method and, who knows, to inspire others to follow suit.
Illustration : Michel Dangmann on Visualhunt.com / CC BY-NC-ND
References
Drouelle, Léa. The Right Idea to Prick This Danish School. » Terrafemina. Last updated: June 25, 2018.
https://www.terrafemina.com/article/danemark-des-jeux-de-roles-pour-apprendre-la-physique-et-les-maths_a343436/1.
« Le Jeu De Rôle Au Lycée. » Podcast Journal. Last update: April 21, 2018.
https://www.podcastjournal.net/Le-jeu-de-role-au-lycee_a25266.html.
Vaufrey, Christine. The Game The School : A Matter Of Cultureéducative. » Thot Cursus. Last update: January 18, 2012.
https://cursus.edu/3588/le-jeu-a-lecole-une-question-de-culture-educative.
Villette, Agnès. In This School, R&R Games Replace Classes. » We Demain. Last update: September 3, 2018.
https://www.wedemain.fr/Dans-cette-ecole-les-jeux-de-roles-remplacent-les-cours_a3380.html.
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