Source: Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, Volume 19, Issue 3, October 2011, 351-368.
This article reports on a comparative case study of first and final year pre-service teachers enrolled in an undergraduate education degree who engaged with an online classroom simulation.
The two cases are compared and contrasted using the theoretical construct of teacher professional identity.
The findings indicated the first year pre-service teachers were able to identify and articulate their emerging teaching philosophy and began to visualise themselves in the role of a classroom teacher.
This was seen as evidence of developing their own professional identity that may have been enhanced by their experience with the simulation.
By way of comparison, the final year pre-service teachers were able to draw upon their previous experiences and knowledge whilst engaging with the simulation to articulate their philosophy of teaching and make important connections between their university coursework and field experiences.
They also made use of the available cognitive tools in the simulation to reflect upon experiences that they saw as contributing to their future role as a teacher.
In this way the simulation enhanced the professional identity of these participants.