Using Simulations to Support High-Quality Teaching of English Language Learners

• In Event: 45.050 - Virtual Reality Simulations as Approximations of Practice: New Ways to Support Teacher Learning

Abstract

Objective

This paper explores how virtual reality simulations (VRS) were tailored to support the evaluation of pedagogical language knowledge of teachers engaged in a graduate program focused on teaching English learners (Bunch, 2013; Galguera, 2011). To examine the impact of two different models of instructional support, VRS was used to assess changes in teachers’ instructional practices and to provide a mechanism for teacher noticing of students’ linguistic and cultural resources.

We draw on the lens of teacher noticing as a way to examine teachers’ attention to complex instructional situations and their ability to make responsive instructional decisions (van Es & Sherin, 2008; van Es, et al., 2017). VRS was used as a platform for examining how pre-service and in-service teachers enacted, and subsequently reflected upon, practices that support ELs at three levels of language proficiency.

Methods and Data Sources

Using stratified random sampling, 54 teachers (29 pre-service and 25 in-service) were assigned to one of two conditions while participating for 30 weeks (consecutive fall-spring semesters) in coursework focused on English learner instruction. In the treatment condition, teachers participated in weekly, supervised fieldwork while mentoring English learners in community settings. In the control condition, teachers attended seminars on the university campus in lieu of fieldwork. All other factors of the program models were parallel for both groups: course assignments, assessments, and instructional contact hours.

The VRS program was leveraged, first, to assess teachers’ instructional decision-making at the beginning and end of coursework. All 54 teachers were given 30 minutes to prepare and deliver a 10-minute lesson with the objective of promoting oral language output among five avatar children who simulated English learners with intermediate-level proficiency. The avatars were controlled in real time by a trained technician, and all teaching sessions were video-recorded. Immediately following each VRS session, teachers were interviewed for 30 minutes using a structured reflection protocol. After post-testing, videos of both VRS sessions were shared with teachers as part of a peer-based teacher noticing activity in which they responded to a written protocol.


Results
Blind, independent coding of all VRS lessons took place by two raters (agreement= 82%) using a modified version of the Classroom Qualities for English Language Learners (CQELL) protocol (Goldenberg, Coleman, Reese, Haertel, & Rodriguez-Mojica, 2012). Transcripts were coded for type, frequency, and appropriateness of teacher-identified strategies across three language proficiency levels. Preliminary findings indicate all participants improved in the quality of instructional decision-making and on awareness of strategies, over the course of study. Early results suggest pre-service participants improved more in terms of instructional decision-making, as did participants who mentored English learners in community settings.

Authors

• Paige Ware, Southern Methodist University

• Diego Roman, Southern Methodist University

• Jillian Marie Conry, Southern Methodist University