SCRAM

Have you heard of SCRAM? It's an interactive / inter-school, mediation role play competition which develops mediation skills in years 9 and 10 students. The aim is to develop in young people collaborative conflict resolution and leadership skills.

Many accredited mediators will be familiar with the role plays that are conducted as part of the mediation training as it is a requirement under the National Mediator Accreditation System.

However there is a twist -  Each school puts forward a team of 8-10 students for a competition!

• They are given background information on an issue which is causing conflict among 4 participants.
• The team uses this information to develop their understanding of conflict dynamics and to practice their mediation skills.  
• The team comprises 2 students as mediators, 2 students acting the roles of Party A1 and Party A2 and 2 students acting the roles of Party B1 and B2 (with 2 – 4 reserves making up the team)

Teams are then assessed as to whether the competencies are demonstrated by the mediators AND how well the Parties A's and the Parties B's actually get into the role.

 

The result?

Having seen the national championships in Perth ... I was gobsmacked with the level of skill and how much the students genuinely enjoyed SCRAM. To capture some of the comments from the students

• you are soo perfect in that role (as the jealous/lazy/vain/misunderstood etc)
• I am not usually involved in conflict so I have a better understanding

The parents and teachers:

• I have never seen my student/son/daughter behave in such a way (as a role player)
• I wish I had know about this earlier and came and watched the earlier sessions

So what appears to be the attraction of SCRAM?

• It's about peers mediating their own -with their own language
• Peers know what it takes to reality test agreements
• Peers understand the dynamics of relationships and alliances and how quickly they can change
• Peers understand the challenges that their peers face in society now - whether it be (an d not limited to) the modern family structure, social networking sites, peer pressure and their search for their cultural identity

Have a look at the SCRAM intro video
Get involved with your local SCRAM chapter in your State or Territory