Climate change summit: testing the impact of role playing games on crossing the knowledge to action gap

Climate change decision-making happens at the intersection of knowledge, values, and experience, usually requiring action with incomplete information. Yet, climate change education prioritizes improving knowledge gaps, not communication and contextual understanding. Role-playing games highlight the interaction of evidence and values in decision-making; they have also been shown to help participants cope with uncertainty. Here, we used a role-playing activity in 8 undergraduate science class sections to explore how role-playing affected climate change decision-making. We found that students selected significantly different climate proposals based on differing affinities with their characters. Students' articulation of 'uncertainty' and 'concreteness' in justifying their final choices were significantly related to their chosen proposals. Students' understanding of circumstance and perspective in driving different priorities/decisions increased significantly. This activity is scalable and broadly applicable; by empowering participants to discuss data and values and make decisions with incomplete information, we might encourage confident participation in the global climate conversation.