A brave new world: considering the pedagogic potential of Virtual World Field Trips (VWFTs) in initial teacher education

Abstract

In its broadest and historical sense, place-based education refers to education that occurs outside of the physical boundaries of a school building (Dewey 1910; Sobel 1996; Theobald 1997; Woodhouse and Knapp 2000). Place-based education, colloquially referred to as the ‘field trip’, is predominantly considered a pedagogic tool of the sciences. It involves a physical movement from the school-based location to a place of interest, for example, a geography field trip to an ecological landscape or science visit to a local museum. This paper considers the use of virtual world field trips (VWFTs) within the context of a pre-service Teacher Education programme. The paper presents data from one undergraduate module offered on a programme of initial teacher education. The paper identifies three significant elements of virtual world field trips: place, people and content. First, the virtual world can provide access to places not possible in the offline context as a result of geographic, economic or religious factors. Second, exposure to and dialogue with a variety of world views can challenge students’ assumptions, facilitate reflection and provide an opportunity for oneto-one teaching encounters. Third, from a teacher educator perspective, engagement in virtual world field trips can provide a space for teachers to model teaching methodologies and model creative learning techniques, thus providing student teachers with an insight into different approaches to teaching.