Simulated Teaching: An Exploration of Virtual Classroom Simulation for Pre-service Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic complicated the field experience component of teacher preparation because of K-12 school closures. To address these challenges, South Mountain University adopted a virtual classroom simulation, simSchool, in which students take on the role of teachers and interact with virtual students. The purpose of this self-study was to explore both the teacher and student perspectives in the initial implementation of simSchool in a secondary education methods course. Data collected for the study include simSchool performance reports, professor and student journals, student reflections, and student focus groups. Findings indicated that students required a more comprehensive introduction to and rationale for the use of the virtual simulation, more chunking of the training materials, and additional debriefing time after each of the modules. Students needed perseverance and resilience to make the sim work meaningful and had to be open to receiving feedback. Technology was initially a barrier but became less so as students spent more time in the sim. Ultimately the students perceived the sim as beneficial to their growth and development as teachers.