Article Review

I recently read an article titled Future K-12 Educators Learn to Teach Through Virtual, Mixed Reality Simulations in THE Journal (Ravipati, 2017). The article drew me in with its title. I began reading the article with touch of skepticism. I was thinking, "There's nothing that can come close to being in front of a classroom full of actual students." While most pre-service teachers do get their best experiences in actual classrooms, I think the idea of using a virtual reality platform as an initial introduction to student and parent interaction could be very beneficial. The article spotlights the use of virtual and mixed reality to train future educators at East Carolina University. Students work in simulated classrooms to practice classroom management, instructional techniques, and parent interactions.

Three things I found to be insightful are:

• The immediate feedback it gives pre-service teachers allows them to make adjustments to their techniques before implementing them in front of an actual classroom full of students. This cuts the learning curve down substantially, and allows the student teachers to use their limited time in a true classroom setting to focus on more difficult tasks and instructional approaches.
• The experience can provide them with a wide variety of situations that they may or may not encounter during student teaching or practicum courses. This builds a strong background that they can tap into later in their career, if needed.
• Using VR early in their education program may allow them to change majors sooner rather than later if they find they are not comfortable in the teaching setting. Often, student teachers discover teaching isn't a good fit for them too late, and they feel stuck because they've already invested a lot of time and money in their education.

Two things I would like to see in my school/district are:

• I would be interested in professional development related to VR, so that I could find ways to implement it in my classroom. I think it would be a valuable tool across all grade levels to provide background knowledge for students for better comprehension, and also to help students find some direction when deciding on a career.
• I would like to see the university we partner with use something like this in their teacher prep courses. I think it is an excellent introduction to what can happen in real world education environments, particularly with parent interactions. Dealing with an angry or aggressive parent is intimidating and unsettling for a new teacher, and I feel like this could be a viable solution to preparing them for those uncomfortable situations.

One question I have is:

• What are the costs associated with using VR?

The article can be accessed here