Published by Australian Academy of Science
Activity 8 | Prospect or suspect – uranium mining in Australia

Exploring uranium mining issues: a role-play

Use role-play to simulate a conference to discuss the possibility of opening a new uranium mine in a remote region of the Northern Territory. Conference delegates could include the following:

• Aboriginal elder;
• shop owner in a nearby town;
• economist;
• environmentalist;
• mining company representative;
• grazier;
• government official;
• scientist;
• power station engineer.

Teachers notes

To make the best use of role-play activities:

• have a clear idea of the desired outcomes;
• help students by ensuring that they have adequate information and that they understand the likely attitudes of the people they are representing.

Always leave time at the end of the lesson for debriefing. Debriefing can include questions that help students to distinguish between the simulation and reality, and between their own attitudes and those they acted out during the role play. In addition, you could tell students the desired outcomes and then they could discuss how effective they think the activity was. Debriefing helps to ensure that any antagonisms developed during the role-play do not continue after the lesson.