Pre-Service Teachers’ Responses to Student Behavior in a Mixed-Reality Environment

Abstract

This study examined whether student gender and the type of student misbehavior affected the classroom management techniques of pre-service teachers. Participants were pre-service teachers who interacted with avatar students controlled by an actor in a mixed-reality environment. Avatar students’ behaviors were systematically coded along with their gender. Pre-service teachers’ responses were organized into four categories: coercion, retreatism, normative, and remunerative. Pre-service teachers’ use of proximity and tone of voice were also recorded. Data were analyzed using chi-square and ANOVA tests. Significant differences in pre-service teacher responses were found for type of avatar student misbehavior but not avatar student gender. Results and implications for future research are discussed.