When technology meets educational sciences: Combining virtual reality and microteaching to train pre-service teachers’ kindergarten classroom management strategies

Abstract

[EN] In our study, we asked 19 pre-service teachers (PSTs) about their experiences with and perceptions of a microteaching-supported virtual reality (VR) kindergarten classroom where they practiced and experimented with different classroom management strategies (CMS). We analyzed quantitative and qualitative responses to gain insight into the perceived usefulness of this learning environment for CMS development and transfer to internship practices. The quantitative results show that practicing in the VR classroom supported mastery of CMS and helped PSTs to manage behaviors at their internships. The qualitative data suggest that the microteaching approach can support transfer of CMS practiced in the VR-kindergarten classroom to in-situ classroom management situations, possibly because of the opportunity to collaboratively engage in reflexive practices. Moreover, PSTs raised valuable suggestions to further improve the microteaching structure to strengthen the effect of peer feedback. The results of this study underline the importance of purposefully grounding VR applications in proven instructional theories.