Enhancing Novice Teacher Practice through Email Performance Feedback and Immersive Video within Virtual Reality

Novice teachers are more likely than their more experienced counterparts to leave the field teaching, which further exacerbates the national teacher shortage. This creates a need to take concerted steps to prepare and retain novice teachers. The Every Student Succeeds Act emphasizes using evidence-based classroom and behavior management practices (EBP) in classrooms and in teacher professional development to improve teacher practice. EBPs, such as performance feedback (PF) and self-reflection, have been shown to be effective in improving teacher practice. However, traditional implementation of PF and self-reflection have barriers to successful professional development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the effects of written performance feedback and immersive video within virtual reality (IVVR) with self-reflection on four novice teachers’ rates of using behavior-specific praise (BSP) using a multi-treatment ABCBC design. Results showed that all teachers’ rate of BSP improved during both treatment conditions and further indicate that both written performance feedback and IVVR were effective in increasing novice teacher’s rate of BSP. Implications for teacher education and training, such as practical uses in the classroom, are discussed.