In this unique VCU class, students role-play their way into history

By William Lineberry
Honors College

If you walk by an Honors College classroom at Virginia Commonwealth University this semester, you might hear a judge's plea for order, or an Enlightenment-era philosopher's speech against the church. You might see a king being slain during the French Revolution, or an aggrieved worker railing against business owners during the Industrial Revolution.

Those aren't videos that students are watching. They're characters the students themselves are portraying.

In Clash of Ideas, a cornerstone course in the Honors College's new curriculum, students largely serve as leaders of the class. The engaged-learning approach was developed by the Reacting Consortium, and Clash of Ideas is the first course of its kind to be offered at VCU.

"It kind of upends what is seen as a traditional classroom," said Honors College instructor Bethany Holmstrom, Ph.D., who teaches a section of Clash of Ideas. "Reacting is one of these student-centered pedagogies where students are in charge and are steering how the learning experience goes."

Playing roles and playing a game of sorts

Madison Dao introduces the colors for a country considering taking political authority away from a monarch during a Clash of Ideas discussion. (Dean Hoffmeyer, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Clash of Ideas is rooted in role-playing activities like the game Dungeons & Dragons and Model U.N. debates. Students are assigned a role, such as King Louis XVI in the French Revolution, and play it for the duration of the exercise.

But the course, even while covering history, goes beyond re-enacting it. Clash of Ideas is randomized to keep the game's outcome unknown to participants. The roll of a six-sided die determines key moments of the campaign.

"It's just a really great way to research differently, but to also think differently," said Ella Milton-Benoit, an Honors College senior who is majoring in political science in the College of Humanities and Sciences. "As a character in the game, you just have a different connection to the material. It has helped me see how the theory I've learned about in lecture courses was really applied and developed during historical events."

This semester in Clash of Ideas, Milton-Benoit is playing a blacksmith who is a part of the English middle class during the Industrial Revolution.

"This class takes you from this abstract 'I know theory exists' … to a very hands-on, experiential learning experience - to 'Oh, I see how this economic theory came into play at the time because my character is really struggling with population growth' or something along those lines," Milton-Benoit said. "It just helps see how it was applicable in real life."

Developing modern skills from history

By portraying characters, Clash of Ideas students engage with history in real time while developing writing and public speaking abilities, enhancing research skills, understanding how strategy is built, and honing oratory and debate abilities.

"The class allows students to see and explore the tensions that existed in these historical factions in a new way that you can't really experience in a traditional lecture-style course," Holmstrom said. "It immerses them within the debate. It's truly innovative in how it does that."

She said the setup "makes students have skin in the game" - even when the game takes them to unexpected places.

"If this were a traditional-style course, it would be challenging to have them feel like they had something at stake in Reformation Augsburg, where there is a debate about whether church services should be in Latin or German," Holmstrom said. "And now, since they are actually playing the historical figures involved, they are yelling and fiercely debating this."

Bethany Holmstrom, here speaking with student Madison Dao, said by portraying characters from history, students in the Clash of Ideas course become immersed in the debates of the time. (Dean Hoffmeyer, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

'It is active learning in all aspects'

Honors College Dean Scott Breuninger, Ph.D., said Clash of Ideas reflects the college's updated curriculum and its focus on helping students enhance their critical thinking, communication and teamwork.

"At the same time, we know that students are more successful when they are part of a community of learners," he said. "Clash of Ideas allows students to engage with challenging ideas in a way that requires them to think creatively and work cooperatively in order to solve problems."

"It is active learning in all aspects," added instructor Katie Knop, Ph.D., who teaches a section of the course. "The game, in a way, makes every student participate in the class in ways that they do not in other classes because the opportunity to do so is not there."

Theo Nunn, an Honors College freshman who is majoring in chemistry in the College of Humanities and Sciences, said they embrace the opportunity.

"I find myself looking forward to this class throughout the week," they said. "It's really fun and engaging. I like my standard history classes, but I really thrive in this class because I get to interact with that history through a role-playing game."

And in doing so, she and her fellow students are learning individually and through working together, Holmstrom noted: "I think Clash builds community in a really unique way that I have not seen in other classrooms."