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With the growing use of mixed reality teaching simulations in teacher education there is a need for researchers to examine how preservice teacher (PST) learning can be supported when using these simulations. To address this gap the current study explores how 47 PSTs used an online teaching simulation to facilitate a discussion focused on argumentation with five student avatars in the MursionTM mixed reality simulated classroom environment. We assessed PSTs' performance in the simulation using rubric-level scores assigned by trained raters and then compared the scores to PSTs' survey responses completed after their discussion asking them to self-report their goals for the discussion, how successful they thought they were across five dimensions of facilitating high-quality, argumentation-focused discussions, and their overall perceptions of the mixed reality teaching simulation. Findings suggest that PSTs' understanding of the discussion task's learning goals somewhat predicted their success in facilitating the discussion and that PSTs' self-assessment of their performance was not always consistent with raters' evaluation of the PSTs' performance. In particular, self-assessment was found to be most consistent with raters' evaluations for those PSTs with higher rater-assigned scores and least consistent for those with lower rater-assigned scores. The implications of these findings are as follows: (1) researchers should be cautious in relying on PST self-report of success when engaging in mixed reality teaching simulations, particularly because low performance may be obscured, (2) teacher educators should be aware that reliance on self-report from PSTs likely obscures the need for additional support for exactly those PSTs who need it most, and (3) the field, therefore, should expand efforts to measure PSTs' performance when using mixed reality teaching simulations.

Abstract Educator preparation programs experienced extreme challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many universities and K-12 schools moved to fully online or hybrid instructional models. These abrupt changes significantly limited preservice teachers’ opportunities to engage in classroom-based practice teaching experiences, which are a bedrock of educator preparation programs to support preservice teachers in learning how to teach effectively. In this study, we examined the usability and viability of integrating simulated teaching experiences, which occur in an online, virtual classroom environment consisting of five student avatars, into elementary science method courses during the COVID-19 pandemic to prepare preservice science teachers to engage in one critical science teaching practice: facilitating discussions that engage students in scientific argumentation. This study uses qualitative content analysis of survey data and a focus group interview to identify patterns and themes in how four elementary science teacher educators and 49 of their preservice teachers perceived the use of this tool within elementary science teacher education, particularly the opportunities and challenges this tool afforded during the pandemic and possibilities for use in the post-COVID era. Study findings suggest that these elementary science teacher educators and preservice teachers perceived the simulated teaching experience as valuable for supporting teacher learning, addressing COVID-related challenges, and tackling perennial challenges in science teacher education. They also noted challenges related to implementation and concerns with future access. A discussion of key factors that may support and hinder the use of such tools within elementary science teacher education and implications for leveraging lessons learned post-COVID are included.

Eliciting and interpreting students’ ideas are essential skills in teaching, yet pre-service teachers (PSTs) rarely have adequate opportunities to develop these skills. In this study, we examine PSTs’ patterns of discourse and perceived learning through engaging in an interactive digital simulation called Eliciting Learner Knowledge (ELK). ELK is a seven-minute, chat-based virtual role play between a PST playing a “teacher” and a PST playing a “student” where the goal is for the teacher to find out what the student knows about a topic. ELK is designed to be a practice space where pre-service and in-service teachers can learn strategies for effectively eliciting their students’ knowledge. We review the implementation of ELK in eight teacher education courses in math or science methods at six different universities and assess (a) patterns of interaction during ELK and (b) PSTs’ perceptions of ELK and their learning from the simulation. Our findings suggest that PSTs engage in effective practices such as eliciting and probing more often than less effective practices such as evaluating and telling. Results suggest that PSTs gain experience in practicing talk moves and having empathy for students’ perspectives through using ELK.