UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF MIXED REALITY SIMULATION ON PRE-SERVICE TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY

The purpose of this mixed methods multiple case study was to gain insight into the self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service teachers participating in a curriculum enhanced via mixed reality simulation experiences. There were two cases within the present study, one was bound by pre-service teacher candidate participants enrolled as students within one of three sequential courses enhanced via mixed reality simulations. The pre-service teacher candidate participant case was further bound and subdivided into sub-units by level of exposure, either 30, 60, or 90 minutes of total exposure within the simulated classroom, respectively. The second case utilized professional candidate participants with connections to the mixed reality simulation experience, and included professors, a simulation manager, and an administrator within the department of education and education psychology. Employing a sequential embedded design, quantitative data were collected before qualitative data, from a purposeful sampling of 53 student participants (n = 53) from the pre-service teacher candidate participant case. Said student participants were administered a demographic survey, as well as an assessment of their sense of self-efficacy at the start of the semester, and again following the conclusion of three occurrences of mixed reality simulations, each of which were five to eight minutes in length. Following the quantitative data, qualitative data were collected from a purposeful sampling of 49 student participants (n = 49), as well as 5 professionals (n = 5) from the professional candidate participant case. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in addition to observations of the mixed reality simulation experiences. Quantitative data were analyzed using a 3 × 2 one-between–one-within subjects ANOVA and showed a significant main effect for the between-subjects factor of total exposure (30, 60, 90 minutes), as well as a significant interaction for the between-subjects and within-subjects factor of time (before, after). Qualitative data were explored using inductive coding and directed content analysis via codes informed by the literature, which subsequently yielded the creation of a finding statement, supported by four themes, each of which included multiple categories and subcategories. The significance of the findings were discussed, as were recommendations for educators, and suggestions for potential future research opportunities