Rehearsing Reality through AI: How Simulations Build Better Teaching with Rhonda Bondie, Julie Cohen, & Lisa Deiker

Purpose statement

How can teachers rehearse the toughest moments of teaching—without real students in the room? This episode explores how authentic simulations, powered by new technologies and AI, are transforming teacher preparation and professional learning. Guests Lisa Dieker, Julie Cohen, and Rhonda Bondie discuss how simulation can personalize feedback, deepen reflection, and build more effective educators.

Description

How can teachers learn the art of teaching in the same way pilots learn to fly or nurses learn to save lives?

This episode of Silver Lining for Learning explores how authentic simulations are transforming teacher preparation and professional growth. Advances in technology now allow teachers unlimited opportunities to practice the hardest moments of teaching, with immediate feedback and opportunities to try again. For example, teachers can rehearse listening and responding to caregivers during difficult conversations. They can also practice responding to a wide variety of students’ learning needs, in the moment, on their feet.. However, simulations are not risk-free, this episode explores the opportunities, benefits, and dangers of simulated teaching practice with and without AI driven tools.

Our guests, Rhonda Bondie, Julie Cohen, and Lisa Dieker, share their insights on the design, research, and implementation of simulated practice in education. Together, they trace the evolution of simulation technologies, discuss how these tools can be personalized to educators’ needs across their careers, and examine the opportunities and risks posed by AI-driven teaching simulations.

Join us to imagine how simulation could reshape what it means to practice teaching.

More about our guests below the video

https://youtu.be/yIMSgs4AoSc

Readings and Resources:

Dieker, L., Hughes, C., & Hynes, M. (2023). The Past, the Present, and the Future of the Evolution of Mixed Reality in Teacher Education. Education Sciences, 13(11), 1070. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13111070
Bondie, R., Zusho, A., Wiseman, E., Dede, C., & Rich, D. (2023). The potential of differentiated and personalized teacher learning through mixed reality simulations. Technology, Mind, and Brain, 4, (1) Spring 2023. Special Collection: Learning in Immersive Virtual Reality. doi: 10.1037/tmb0000098 https://tmb.apaopen.org/pub/4gk68mil
Cohen, J., Wong, V., Krishnamachari, A., & Berlin, R. (2020). Teacher coaching in a simulated environment. Educational evaluation and policy analysis, 42(2), 208-231.https://doi.org/10.3102/016237372090621

Episode Guests

Rhonda Bondie is an associate professor in special education at Hunter College, Deans Fellow, and the director of the Hunter College Learning Lab. Rhonda spent over 20 years in urban public schools as both a special and general educator. Rhonda’s co-authored book, Differentiated Instruction Made Practical, was recently translated into Portuguese, is used by teachers in more than 30 countries to ensure all learners are thriving every day. Rhonda’s research examines how teachers develop inclusive teaching practices through new technologies available at https://agileteacher.org/.

Julie Cohen is the Charles S. Robb associate professor at the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on teacher learning and skill development. For the past nine years, she has led the TeachSim lab at the University of Virginia where her team has designed over seventy simulation-based learning experiences for teachers. Her published work has documented the benefits of mixed reality simulations as both a practice space and assessment platform for beginning teachers. With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, she is working with Mursion to design a curriculum of AI-driven simulation modules for teachers.

Lisa Dieker, Ph.D. is Williamson Family Distinguished Professor of Special Education at the University of Kansas and Director of FLITE (Flexible Learning through Innovations in Technology and Education). Her research examines inclusive education, teacher preparation, and the use of technology, including AI and mixed-reality simulation, to support students with disabilities in STEM. She co-founded the TeachLivE™ simulator and holds six patents in education and technology. She has authored seven books and over 100 scholarly publications. She has received numerous awards, has provided over 200 keynotes, and served as editor for four academic journals.

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