Role plays to facilitate collaboration in internationally diverse student groups

Teaching activity summary

Pharmacy case role plays to practice cross-cultural teamwork and communication.

What

This workshop turns cultural difference into a learning asset by using role play in mixed-cultural student teams. Learners simulate pharmacist–patient consultations where communication styles, beliefs, and expectations diverge, and they co-produce a defensible treatment plan. The design provides a safe, structured space to practice listening across languages, negotiating culturally grounded preferences, and checking for shared understanding while maintaining clinical rigor.

Why

Interaction between domestic/local and international students can support cultural understanding, improve intercultural skills, and enhance learning when it is intentionally designed and scaffolded (Arkoudis et al. 2013). Students’ attitudes toward culturally mixed groups are influenced by their participation in diverse groups and by engagement in authentic, interdependent tasks, which can strengthen collaboration and learning compared with more homogeneous groups (Summers & Volet 2008). Within pharmacy education, role play and active learning are established approaches for developing communication skills in realistic but low‑stakes settings that support clinical reasoning and patient-centred interactions (Luiz Adrian et al. 2015). In addition, mixed student perspectives highlight that social relationships and purposeful structures help overcome tensions in cross-cultural group work, reinforcing the value of intentional group formation and guided reflection in such activities (Mittelmeier et al. 2018). Evidence from intercultural education also indicates that structured intergroup interaction can foster intercultural communication skills, supporting the reflexive discussion component that follows the role plays (Eisenchlas & Trevaskes 2007).

How

This is a three-hour, in-person workshop with role plays followed by reflexive discussion. The teacher forms culturally diverse groups of four, provides prepared pharmacy case scenarios with EDIA-relevant elements, and assigns two students as pharmacists and two as patients. Groups aim to reach a unique solution, conclusion, or treatment suggestion. The rest of the class observes (live or via optional recordings) and offers comments and questions. The teacher leads a summary using reflection prompts and may optionally align formative feedback with elements of the FIP Global Competency Framework.

Impact

Students collaborate across different cultures, gain an understanding of how cultural diversity can influence approaches to medication-related problems and patient meetings, improve communication across language barriers, reflect on personal biases and assumptions, and widen their perspectives. Instructors gain a formative view of group dynamics and provide feedback on communication, inclusion, teamwork, cultural sensitivity, and problem-solving in pharmacy contexts. These outcomes support future interaction among culturally different students.

References

  • Arkoudis S, Watty K, Baik C, Yu X, Borland H, Chang S, et al. Finding common ground: enhancing interaction between domestic and international students in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education. 2013;18(3):222‑235. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2012.719156

  • Eisenchlas, S., & Trevaskes, S. (2007). Developing intercultural communication skills through intergroup interaction. Intercultural Education, 18(5), 413–425. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675980701685271

  • Luiz Adrian JA, Zeszotarski P, Ma C. Developing pharmacy student communication skills through role‑playing and active learning. Am J Pharm Educ. 2015;79(3):44. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe79344

  • Mittelmeier, J., Rienties, B., Tempelaar, D., & Whitelock, D. (2018). Overcoming cross-cultural group work tensions: mixed student perspectives on the role of social relationships. Higher Education, 75(1), 149–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0131-3

  • Summers M, Volet M. Students’ attitudes towards culturally mixed groups on international campuses: impact of participation in diverse and non‑diverse groups. Studies in Higher Education. 2008;33(4):357‑370. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802211430

Original materials developed by:

Step-by-step Guide
Documentation