STS action dramas, or role-playing, sociodramas or dramatic improvisation, as they are variously called give students the opportunity to get out of their role and into a new one to explore an STS issue. STS action dramas do not have to be elaborately directed. They work best if students are left to devise their own approaches. The important element is for the teacher to establish a condition in which the students can temporarily take on a new character, express ideas, and then reflect (with the whole class participating).
Sources of ideas for STS action dramas include newspapers (especially papers that regularly feature debates), congressional decisions, actions and new laws, environmental incidents (accidents), and STS issues featured in textbooks.
The city council has
decided to ban bicycles on main roads from 7 A.M. - 9 A.M.
and 3 P.M. - 6 P.M. on weeksdays because of the number of
bicycle-related accidents. Students at the city's only
middle school have protested and will present their petition
and arguments at the next council meeting.