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Virtual pupils can help teachers to develop classroom strategies.
How can virtual reality revolutionise teacher training? It’s time to fully embrace what technology can offer, write Susan Day and Kirsty Macfarlane
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virtual reality training; other examples of similar software being used include training for business executives, military personnel and power plant staff (Issenberg et al, 1999). It therefore makes sense to utilise this increasingly realistic training in the education sector. Examples of the effective use of virtual reality training in the education context include the following. Classroom Training Effective classroom strategy is a vital skill for teachers to master if they want to truly succeed in their profession, with Brophy and Evertson (1976) going so far as to say ‘A teacher who is grossly inadequate in classroom management skills is probably not going to accomplish much’ (Brophy and Evertson, 1976). It can be argued that these skills are Autumn |
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Virtual reality has progressed a long way since the ineffective goggles and headsets that emerged when the term was originally coined in 1987. Technology has made such advances over the last 30 years that simulations, due to their ability to simultaneously engage the emotional and cognitive processes of trainees, are viewed as one of the most effective training methods available (Tennyson and Jorezak, 2008). A study carried out at Yale University School of Medicine established that skills learned through virtual reality training can be transferred for use in a real environment: students who practised using a surgical simulation were able to improve on or out-perform those who did not experience the simulation. Non-participants were nine times more likely to fail to make progress (Seymour et al, 2002). But the medical profession is not alone in undertaking
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