INTRODUCTION
Drama-in-Education (D.I.E.) methodologies provide the teacher of C.S.P.E. with techniques derived from drama which are used to invite stUdents to explore a given issue, story , case- study and so on. In this article I intend to focus on hot-seating.

Hot-Seating: Description
This technique invites one or more pupils in the role of characters associated with the given story/issue/case-study, to take the hot-seat and answer questions put by the rest of the class.
I tend to use hot-seating as a follow-up technique to freeze-framing and thought-tracking and I give it a class period of its own. In order to encourage volunteers and to protect the individual student from feeling targeted or from 'drying up' , I usually invite two pupils to represent each character. Either character is, therefore, free to answer the questions. the "shadow." character giving support and supplementing the response. As pupils become more experienced in hot-seating, 'shadowing' can be eliminated.
I find it best to hot-seac several characters at once. This approach spreads the questioning and answering. giving it a broader and more real context and encourages more insights and a more lively and enteraining exchange.

Example: Hot-seating:
Going National (Exemplar Material for Unit 3 "The State - Ireland") Section II: Redundancy: Clare's Story, P. 38-39.

How Would you Feel?
During the first few minutes of class time I invite those who will be identifying with the selected characters to sit together in pairs and to re-create the character for themselves, encompassing as many details from the story as possible and supporting them where necessary The selected characters could include John, Clare, John's employer. Clare's mother and other such characters emerging from the sub-text and the story .Each pair continue to discuss and familiarise themselves with their characters, thus four to six characters are emerging spontaneously and simultaneously around the room.
Meanwhile, during the same few minutes, the rest of the class is divided into groups of three or four, representing different lobbies and viewpoints that emerge in the context of redundancy. Their task is to short list the relevant and burning questions which should be asked of the panel from their group's perspective. The teacher might select from the following groups or better still the students themselves might suggest who they are:

*Group I: A Trade Union Group representing John's interests
* Group II: A team of social workers
* Group Ill: Members of the local Citizens' Action Group
* Group IV: Members of the local youth group
* Group V: A group of psychologists specialising in the study of employment

It is indeed possible for the students to ask questions as themselves. but they tend to be more self-conscious and less focused when themselves. The pupils-in-role technique allows them the freedom to identify with other viewpoints and hence to ask questions they would otherwise not consider .
The next twenty to twenty-five minutes of class time is taken up with hot-seating the various characters. In order to give the event a sense of occasion and urgency, I tend to present the exercise as a live TV presentation, part of a chat show or current affairs programme. This implies that from time to time during the show, I side-step into a parallel role, that of some well known presenter. The students know that when I take up my microphone, for example, I am someone else (not necessarily in voice or looks!). They are quite prepared to suspend disbelief in the interest of getting on with the hot-Seating and I am comfortable in a role which is akin to my teaching one, allowing me to field questions and to ensure that all get a fair chance to question and answer. It is possible to hot-Seat the characters without the teacher-in-role framework and without the 'studio' setting, but invariably, I find the more dramatic context more productive and more enjoyable for students and teacher .
Loosening up the 'square' classroom structure is also important and invites more pupil questioning and involvement. I tend to sit my 'audience' in a semi-circle, putting the desks aside and adapting the classroom space to resemble that of a 'studio audience' .Those in the hot-seat face the class/cameras from their 'comfortable studio chairs' (minus the desks!); the 'shadow' characters sitting beside or standing/sitting behind them. During the final five or ten minutes of class, I invite the students to reflect on the hot-seating exercise and to acknowledge that the redundancy problem must be examined from various perspectives. For homework, I invite those who were representing vested interest groups to write one to two paragraphs highlighting their perspective and to make a list of the questions they asked of the panel. I also invite them to say whether or not they were satisfied with the answers. The homework exercise for those in the hot-seat invites students to tell their story in the first person from the perspective of the character involved. I also encourage them to recall the more 'thorny' questions and to record their responses.

Hot-Seating: Observations
Hot-seating is a useful technique for eliciting precise information regarding the topic being explored and the people who are affected by it. It invites the class to gain perspective on the issue by identifying with the attitUdes and conflicting views of various interested and affected parties. It also deepens the pupils' understanding of the key characters involved in the story and adds complexity and motivation to their thoughts and actions. It can be used with any class and most subjects in junior or senior cycle, since the questions and answers of students define their understanding of the issue being explored at their level and on their terms.