Abstract
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, faculty at a Hispanic serving institution shifted from face-to-face to totally online teaching. The authors describe two assignments for teacher candidates that required them to design and deliver lessons that focused on practicing two high-leverage practices utilizing Mursion, a mixed-reality simulation (MRS) software and platform. MRS sessions were delivered through Zoom video conferencing and were delivered asynchronously. Benefits, challenges, and limitations of using MRS in conjunction with Zoom in online courses were identified and discussed. Detailed logistics for planning, preparing, and executing MRS effectively were provided. The authors describe implications for remote learning as it related to teaching at an HSI located in one of the poorest areas of the U.S., with one of the most vulnerable populations.
TopIntroduction
In mid-March of 2020, the President of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) where the authors of this chapter work, made an announcement that has had a lasting impact to this day. Due to the spread of COVID-19, with consideration of guidelines from the governor, the university president extended Spring Break for an additional week. He also announced that the university, a government entity, would remain open; essential workers would continue to report to their place of work, and the university was going to transition to a telecommuting workforce, shifting some faculty and staff from current on-campus workplaces to temporarily working from home. Then came the big announcement that caught many faculty members off guard―all courses were to be offered online beginning Monday, March 23, 2020, through the end of the spring semester. He ended this announcement stressing these changes were for the health and safety of the campus community and that “our work does not change; where and how we do it, does change” (UTRGV, 2020b).
Prior to the pandemic, UTRGV offered all faculty members, staff members, and students Blackboard Learn (BBL), an online learning management system (LMS), as well as technical and instructional support from the Center for Online Learning and Teaching Technology (COLTT). Faculty, staff, and students had their own Zoom Pro video conferencing accounts and access to Mursion, a mixed-reality simulation platform (MRS) through the university’s MRS lab. The number of online and hybrid courses increased dramatically as a result of the president’s mandate. Quality Matters (QM, 2020) training was provided for professional development for online teaching, through COLTT. A comparison of the number of online courses offered in the fall of 2019 to the fall of 2020 showed exponential growth. UTRGV offered 684 total online courses in the fall of 2019. This increased to 4,076 courses just one year later. Hybrid course offerings also increased from 201 in the fall of 2019 to 660 in the fall of 2020 (UTRGV, 2020a).
When the pandemic broke, department chairs encouraged faculty members to take the extra week of spring break to learn how to post their materials to BBL and to participate in QM training for online learning. Many professors experienced a sense of urgency and pressure to learn how to teach effectively online. There was also an increase in interest in learning how to use MRS, from faculty members who had not considered this technology prior to the pandemic. As a result, the MRS lab was, and continues to be, in high demand.
Key Terms in this Chapter
High-Leverage Practices: TeachingWorks, a center from the University of Michigan, describe high leverage practices as the basic fundamentals of teaching. These practices are used constantly and are critical to helping students learn important content. High-leverage practices are also central to supporting students’ social and emotional development. They are used across subject areas, grade levels, and contexts. They are “high-leverage” not only because they matter to student learning, but because they are basic for advancing skill in teaching. See https://www.teachingworks.org/work-of-teaching/high-leverage-practices .
Mixed-Reality Simulation: A mixed reality simulation provides an immersive experience consisting of a combination of virtual and physical elements (Lindgren, Tscholl, & Johnson, 2016 AU19: The in-text citation "Lindgren, Tscholl, & Johnson, 2016" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ). Mixed reality simulations use “digital puppetry” in the form of virtual students or avatars in a virtual classroom controlled by a live interactor who operates the technology behind the scenes to control the avatar students' behaviors ( Bautista & Boone, 2015 ). Interactors prepare for the simulation much like standardized individuals by becoming well versed in the respective personalities and back stories of the avatars as well as the scenario planned for the simulation (Dieker et al., 2015 AU20: The in-text citation "Dieker et al., 2015" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ; Dieker, Straub, Hughes, Hynes, & Hardin, 2014 AU21: The in-text citation "Dieker, Straub, Hughes, Hynes, & Hardin, 2014" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ).
Teacher Candidates: Teacher candidates are preservice teachers who are enrolled in an educator preparation program and are preparing to become teachers.
Practice-Based Teacher Education: According to Francesca Forzani (2014) , practice-based teacher education refers to professional training that attempts to focus novices’ learning more directly on the work of teaching rather than on traditional academic or theoretical topics that may have only marginal relevance to the realities of the classroom.
Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI): The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities defines HSIs as colleges, universities, or systems/districts where total Hispanic enrollment constitutes a minimum of 25% of the total enrollment. “Total Enrollment” includes full-time and part-time students at the undergraduate or graduate level (including professional schools) of the institution, or both (i.e., headcount of for-credit students). https://www.hacu.net/hacu/HSI_Definition.asp .
Culturally Relevant Teaching: A term coined by Gloria Ladson-Billings (1994) AU17: The in-text citation "Gloria Ladson-Billings (1994)" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. , culturally relevant teaching refers to a “a pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes.” Geneva Gay (2010) AU18: The in-text citation "Geneva Gay (2010)" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. further explains that CRT “uses the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning more relevant and effective.”
Poverty: “Poverty” is an official measure defined by the U.S. Government based on family income. In Texas, a family that consists of 2 adults and 2 children who make a family income of $24,858 per year is considered poor. In Texas, 1.5 million Texas children live in poverty (20.9 percent of all Texas children). Black and Hispanic Texans are more than twice as likely to live below the poverty line as White and Asian Texans. This information is according to the U.S. Census, 2017.