The learning design implemented for this exemplar encompasses 4 stages. Stages 2 to 4 involve the online role-play.

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WHAT THE STUDENTS DO

After a solid grounding in the technical building blocks of law and finance (including research methodologies and critical practical information) students apply their knowledge to formulating solutions to current regulatory dilemmas (e.g. insider trading).

Participants are each given a character role at the end of the last substantive face-to-face session (a Saturday). The characters are pre-selected by the lecturers, to achieve the maximum learning and to challenge their existing roles or positions. For the international students, a general discussion of the characters takes place and the first exercise is to research and write a profile of the person. Each role represents a typical stakeholder involved in securities markets regulation decisions (e.g. Australian Federal Treasurer Peter Costello).

There are three related tasks for this learning activity and a critical requirement for successful completion of these is anonymity. That is, students must not tell anyone their role. Roles must be kept completely confidential. This ensures a greater chance of playing the role effectively. The simulation controller, 'Press release', is the only person who knows the identity of each role being played by a different student.

INDIVIDUAL TASK 1: Preparing a role profile

Students are given 3% for completing their role profile and posting it to the UTSonline (Blackboard) folder called 'Role Profile' on time.

Students who wish to score the full 5% are advised to complete the task using the following headings in their role profile. This should reflect real experience.

Below is how this task is explained to the students:

• Ambitions. Your role no doubt has personal and have professional ambitions and goals. You should reflect on the tangible outcomes that your role would like to occur in securities markets. Some roles have professional or personal associations. The mission statements of these agencies, companies and other associations found on the websites and elsewhere should be used to help formulate your ambitions for your role.
• Concerns. Your role no doubt has personal and professional concerns. Your profile should reflect those concerns that are based on both personal and professional issues that you believe are important from your role's perspective in securities markets.
• Strategies. Your role no doubt has strategies that you expect he/she may use to achieve your ambitions and overcome your concerns. All people have ways of trying to influence the outcome of the decision-making process. Where the role has professional responsibilities then some of the tools they use in carrying out their work can be stated as part of your strategy.

  How long should it take?
  Maximum is 500 words. We have allowed up to 7.5 hours for this step.

These profiles are available to all students and staff involved in the role-play.

INDIVIDUAL TASK 2: Simulating your role

The simulation controller, 'Press release', announces a series of press releases each business day. The announcements relate to several types of political, financial and legal information signals and crises in the securities markets. The students must respond privately as their simulated character would. (e.g. Peter Costello and John Howard), or respond publicly through their own press releases into the designated discussion folder. Marks are awarded for the quantity and quality of the responses in relation to each assigned role.

Students are required to respond in character every day. Students who make only a few and/or minor contributions receive 1% (out 5% for quantity) and 1% (out of 5% for quality). This means private messages with the simulation only will need to be monitored. This is to enable the full grading of the interactions (e.g. private deals between players).

Students are given advice and guidance on how to the score the full 10%. Below is how it is explaimed to them.

• Try to act like your character. This role simulation is designed to draw out the needs of each character and therefore requires you to think like your character. For instance, a small-time member of the public who owns a few Telstra shares probably has no concept of portfolio risk or the effects of interest rate changes. Others may be sceptical of academics, the press, politicians or bureaucrats. A fun, interesting and meaningful simulation can only be achieved if the participants become their character. This character will be created by you incorporating the background material provided, your readings on the role and your personality. Feel free to embellish the character while still retaining their functional role in the simulation if you feel that this is possible and within their personality in response to a crisis.
• Try to keep in touch regularly. Your ability to influence the scenario will require you to follow what is happening and respond quickly. Aim for checking the simulation at least several times a day as press releases will occur each day, and the role simulation only goes for one week. Please don't talk about your role with other members of SMR for that week -except as your role permits, of course.
• Use your influence. Every player can influence the scenario but will need to use a different set of tools. A small-time investor may call for protest and letter writing while a politician may commission an inquiry.
• Communicate with other players (and only within UTSonline). Communication is vital for a player to achieve their needs. These communiqués can be private to a single player (via Send Message off the home page) or can be public (via Discussion off the home page, then into 'Role Simulation', then use back of envelope icon) to all players. You can make private deals as with other players for mutual support. However the deals you make should be ethical, based on what you regard the ethics of the players involved. With some players this may lead to a broad range of options while other players will have little room to move. The website should be used as the only vehicle for the release of information to all the players.
• Maintain confidentiality. All characters' roles are confidential. Do not share the information of your designated market-player role. All communication is to be via UTSonline to retain complete anonymity of your role and to fulfill learning objectives.

Students can view a range of examples of responses from previous students' role-play simulations. These are available from the website. Students are also showed a video (8 minutes) which documents previous students' experiences and their advice.

Students are told that this task will take approximately 15 hours.

INDIVIDUAL TASK 3: Role simulation final report

Below is how the third task is explained to the students:

The final learning activity relating to the role simulation is a report on how the role simulation affected your achievement of the subject learning objectives. Word limit is 2,500. (Hint: Keep a reflective journal.)

It is suggested that you maintain a reflective journal throughout the role simulation. This will help you recall how your learning impacted on your understanding of the securities markets through the role simulation.

How will it be marked?
Students who wish to score 25% will follow the grading and feedback criteria. (A whole page is provided to students) The 25% role-play report will be marked using the following feedback and grading checklist. The ticks below indicate where you stand with regard to each set of statements. A tick in the extreme left-hand box means that the statement on the left is true and therefore is of distinction quality. The boxes from left to right are abbreviated by:

• H (High Distinct: 85%-100%)
• D (Distinction: 75%-84%)
• C (Credit: 65%-74%)
• P (Pass: 50%-64%)
• F (Fail: 0%-49%)
  

SIGNIFICANCE OF ORDER
The law and finance academics pre-plan the sequence of events described in the Press Releases. This order can be changed depending upon the reactions and interactions of the players.

CRITICAL ACTIVITIES
Anonymity is crucial to the role-play as it enables students to get outside their comfort zone and into the real life character, and try to understand the issues from an alternative position.

It is also crucial to the students' effective participation that they conduct research on the web.

Task 3 is essential to reflect how the theory and practice blend together in the real world. The reality is that there is a natural ambiguity and on-going construction of knowledge for each and every player in the securities markets. Hence we expect very different reflective essays as each student demonstrates their understanding of the student outcomes.

ACCESSIBLE RESOURCES
Prior to the learning task students need to be brought up to speed with regard to the knowledge, capabilities and values. This is achieved via:

• Face-to-face sessions (with staff and with team peers).
• Print materials(i.e. printed notes, readings and text) which are provided to students at the beginning of the subject.
• Web based learning & assessment activities.

For the learning task students need:

• Face-to-face contact with colleagues and friends (but NOT other students in the subject).
• Web access(i.e. Blackboard so they can participate in public discussions forums in their role; search and research. what their role should do/say) and access to email (i.e. private email so they can participate in private discussions in their role).
• Print resources (i.e. any resources that help them understand and participate in their role).

RESOURCES IN CONTEXT
The students are provided with a clear structure, to enhance their understanding of the theory and distinctions between law and business as disciplines, as well as to heighten their appreciation of the roles of individuals (with their own ethical and moral backgrounds) in roles of authority and influence.

VARYING THE RESOURCE SET
Detailed written instructions are essential as is a clear programme, which is closely connected to the assessment and the subject objectives. With up to half the students coming from outside Australia it was essential to provide back-up resources and additional guidance. The students are shown an 8 minute video of previous students who have completed the role-play. Some examples and advice are provided to reduce the anxiety and facilitate a clearer understanding of what is required.

A book of readings on law and finance is provided to the students. These include both theoretical and contemporary applications of issues viewed from historical, Australian and international perspectives. Staff and students explore software containing a list of critiqued website resources linked to the various topics regarding the securities markets' regulation. This is also an assessable activity which facilitates learning outcomes prior to the commencement of the role-play.

SUPPORTS SUPPLIED
It is critical that students develop their knowledge, skills and values prior to participating in the online role-play activity.

Supports provided to students to help them achieve this include two lecturers from both disciplines, facilitating discussion and theoretical understandings relating to a set of readings and web-resources. These are provided in face-to-face classes and via the web. Students also work in teams on various peer-learning and assessable activities including team tests and team debates.

The sequence of the activities in the learning design serves as a support mechanism to students as the role-play simulation (which is represented as Stage 2 to Stage 4 in the Learning Design Sequence) helps students to achieve a higher level of understanding, which can only come about by moving from abstract to practice, even if that practice is in a simulated environment.

It is critical that student utilise their colleagues, friends, etc. (but not subject peers) to develop their understanding of the 'real people' roles in Australia. Students are encouraged to ask “How would the Prime Minister react to this situation?” or "What is my character trying to achieve?"

Support is provided to students during the online role-play via the lecturers’ role: modelling the activity and playing the part of an academic. This enables questions to be asked and answered in character. Both academics from finance and law play-participate in the exercise. Their position is that of an “academic” expert which enables critical comments on the public debates and comments of students. This reflects the actual role academics play in the public debate on these types of issues via newspapers and other media. It also enables academics to maintain levels of control and accuracy of the information by keeping students on-track to prevent undue advantage caused by misleading information. It is worth noting that our actual research in this area is cited by journalists and prompt media inquiries to make public comments. (See Business Review Weekly Oct 24th 2002, page 67).

Detailed instructions and clear assessment criteria are provided to the students so that they know exactly what needs to be done to achieve high results.

Examples of responses from previous students' role-play simulations can be viewed on the website, and an 8 minute video about their experiences is screened in the classroom.

SIGNIFICANCE OF SUPPORT STRATEGIES
The support strategies implemented ensure students do not feel isolated and are aware that the exercise is undertaken over a short period of time (two weeks). They can directly communicate with the lecturers and request help when technical problems arise. Only the lecturers know the real names of the students playing the parts.

SUPPORT STRATEGY ADAPTATION
The level of support is intensive for the two weeks and requires dedicated time by staff and students. Telephone, email and web-support is required, but there is no need for face-to-face contact.

Because students are typically placed in roles which would cause them to move out of their comfort zone, and because a role-play is a new learning experience, students often need more intensive explanation and encouragement to step into the shoes of the role that they have been allocated. Some students require substantially more help than others. The support would then taper off as they "find their feet" during the simulation. Intensive support is only required occasionally; for example, if the technology fails or there is a significant piece of information which they do not understand. This is more likely to occur with the international students who may not have the historical and contextual knowledge of Australia (e.g. Who is Christopher Skase or Alan Bond?). Two staff members have to allocate at least 1-2 hours daily for the duration of the role-play (i.e. two weeks or ten days).