Virtual Discipline Problems: Teacher Training

So many teachers new to the classroom wish they'd had more training in how to handle students, especially those who cause problems. Difficulties with student behavior are probably one of the major reasons that a high percentage of new teachers leave the profession. Instead of struggling with discipline techniques on the job, some pre-service teachers at the University of Central Florida are getting to practice with virtual students. This high-tech classroom is just being created and is based upon simulations developed for military training. At this time, there are five virtual students in the classroom; one is definitely not well-behaved. The idea is to help both pre-service and in-service teachers learn to deal with students like this. Some of the questions being asked with this project are: Can virtual students help train teachers? and Can virtual teachers teach students? It will be interesting to follow this research project.