Stress Matters: Stress Management and Professional Identity Development of Preservice Teachers Through Teaching to Avatars

• In Event: Video Technology as a Tool for Preservice Teachers' Learning

Abstract

The immersive virtual environment technology supports teacher practice without potentially harmful effects on students (Dieker, Hynes, Stapleton, & Hughes, 2007) when they are stressed. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the impact of stress (its level and type), cope with strategies being reformed, and professional identity development of pre-service teachers as teaching in the virtual environment. Research participants consisted of 14 pre-service teachers within a college of education at a university in the southeastern United States. The data were obtained from semi-structured interviews, online reflections, observation protocol, Bioharness software, and analyzed using multiple coding methods. The results provide innovative suggestions to education community to provide comprehensive support to pre-service teachers in overcoming stress through professional identity development.

Authors

• Tugce Gul, University of West Florida

• John L. Pecore, University of West Florida

• Eric Greska, University of West Florida