The Use of Mixed Reality Simulations in Teacher Education

Dear Colleagues,

To better prepare and equip teachers to remain in the field, intensive and extensive practice and training must be inclusive components of educator preparation programs (EPPs) so that teacher candidates can develop their academic and social-emotional pedagogical skills prior to entering a classroom (Luther and Peterson-Ahmad, 2022). Moreover, given the diversity of students in today’s schools, teacher candidates must also learn how to simultaneously utilize high-impact learning strategies that are both supportive and inclusive. One way that these skills can be fostered is by using mixed reality simulations. Mixed reality simulations can provide opportunities for teacher candidates to engage in and practice classroom strategies and techniques that support research-based pedagogy and can be combined with explicit feedback provided by course instructors and/or peers. Skills developed within a mixed-reality environment prior to working with children in a real classroom can not only improve the delivery of foundational teaching skills, but can also improve sense of self-efficacy and the provision of student feedback; all of which can be transferred into a real classroom setting. This Special Issue aims at disseminating current research that provides knowledge on how mixed reality simulations are used to support teacher candidates in EPPs to better support the individualized needs of students in an inclusive classroom.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Education Sciences.

Dr. Maria B. Peterson-Ahmad
Guest Editor

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