Virtual Classrooms: STAR Simulator Building Virtual Environments for Teacher Training in Effective Classroom Management.

The focus of this project is to create research in teacher education that positively impacts teacher recruitment, preparation and retention in urban environments. The novel approach we are using to attack this problem is that of capturing, analyzing, synthesizing and simulating human interactions in Mixed Reality (part real, part synthetic) environments, thereby creating training/screening settings that are realistic and yet do not put actual children at risk. Our approach is based on the proven Haberman methods for screening teachers for urban schools and is currently being prototyped as part of a Department of Education Small Business Innovative Research Grant. Teacher Shortages The need to recruit, prepare and retain our teaching force in today's urban schools is critical as we face unprecedented shortages of teachers. Although teacher preparation programs and alternative certification programs exist, most teacher education programs rely upon traditional methods of preparing teachers to work in today's classrooms. These methods include courses, field experiences and some type of culminating student teaching. Despite the creative ways in which colleges of education and school districts are working together to build these experiences, most beginning teachers still feel inadequately prepared to manage a classroom. This lack of preparation permeates especially in the voices of beginning teachers in urban settings. Therefore, the University of Central Florida (UCF) and Simiosys are looking for alternative methods to assist teacher preparation with a specific focus on urban classrooms. In partnership with the Haberman Education Foundation (HEF), a virtual classroom environment is being created in an attempt to recruit teachers into critical shortage areas, to provide a consistent and innovative tool for preparation and to allow ongoing learning that maintains and updates these teachers' skills, thereby helping them to stay satisfied and productive in their current positions. The initial prototype focuses on behavior management in urban settings as this is the number one area of concern for teachers. In Florida, critical teacher shortage areas identified for 2004-2005 included middle and high school level mathematics, middle and high school level science, and exceptional student education. These shortages are based on the number and percentages of vacancies in each teaching discipline; the number and percentage of positions filled by teachers not certified in the appropriate field; and the projected annual supply of graduates of state approved Florida teacher education programs for each discipline. Math, science and exceptional student education have all