I'm of an opinion that any definition of role play as it pertains to RPG's that dissassociates RPG's from improv theater doesn't work. If you do so, then LARP'ing suddenly stops being an RPG. Whether or not you like LARP'ing, I think most gamers would admit that it is role playing. It's not role play that particularly interests me, but, I would certainly never try to claim that it isn't role playing.
Now, it is true that the purpost of role play in most fields is pedagogical. You teach through role play. Pretty much every classroom on the planet does it from time to time. But, the purpose of that role play is completely different from what occurs in an RPG. The point of engaging in role play in an RPG is to have fun. You're not trying to learn anything by pretending to be Thugdar the Barbarian. You're simply assuming a role in an unfolding story and, to a greater or lesser degree, acting out how you think that character would react to that situation.
That's why I reject HowandWhy's definition of role play. He wants a single definition of role play that applies both to the classroom and to gaming. It doesn't work though. You don't role play in a class room simply for fun. (not that there's anything simple about fun) As a teacher, you set up a role play in a class room to drive a certain teaching point home to the students. The DM (or GM or Storyteller or whatever) isn't trying to teach anything to the players though. There's no pedagogical purpose.
So, while yes, we use the same word "role playing" as is used in teaching circles, the definition is not the same.
