Role-Playing as a Strategy for Developing a Critical Analysis of Information and Decision-Making Through the Socio-scientific Issue of Russian Gas

Fostering critical thinking is critical to preparing students for a world of global challenges. This study focuses on critical information analysis and decision-making as key critical thinking dimensions. The research examines how 62 eighth-grade students from a secondary school in Málaga (Spain) develop these dimensions in a role-playing parliamentary scenario on the energy alternative to Russian gas purchases triggered by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The debate preparation worksheet was used as a data collection tool to assess the critical analysis of information, where students recorded the sources consulted. About decision-making, a question on the position taken on the problem before and after the role-play was used. The sources used for the role-play were diverse, recent and of medium reliability. The role-play induced some students to reconsider the issue, evidenced by the emergence of new energy alternatives and opinion changes on these energy sources, suggesting a greater awareness of environmental sustainability.