Communications of the ACM
Vcu Training Simulator Tests, Evaluates School Leaders
Credit: Virginia Commonwealth University
Technology used by the military to train soldiers on a virtual battlefield is being adapted by the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education to prepare America's next generation of school leaders more effectively and at less cost.
Using a five-year, $5.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, researchers with "Project ALL" (Authentic Learning for Leaders) are developing the world's first computer simulator that puts prospective administrators in the challenging role of leading a virtual middle school and then assesses their performance with those real world situations.
Job candidates work through a year-in-the-life of a school principal and see hundreds of leadership-related events, opportunities, problems and possible solutions that are not always covered in textbooks or graduate lectures.
Situations include dealing with demanding parents, completing personnel evaluations and enforcing curriculum decisions. As the user makes decisions, the simulation algorithm calculates a profile of strengths and weaknesses and that profile is sent back to the user and forwarded to the employer.
"You see the problems faced by principals every day," says Project ALL Simulation Director Dale Mann. "You make choices and you see the immediate and vivid consequences of those choices."
As the pattern of decisions emerges, they begin to affect the trajectory of the school. Bad choices lead to a cascade of unfortunate events, such as low student achievement or a hostile faculty. Better choices lead to a more successful school, more trust from the central office and even a promotion.
"The simulator highlights patterns, such as whether the prospective educator is more likely to respond to central office requests over building-level needs, whether he or she prefers direct instruction over technology, or if that person is more comfortable with personal communication than impersonal communication," says Project ALL Director Charol Shakeshaft, professor and chair of the VCU School of Education Department of Educational Leadership.
Web-enabled simulations have saved as much as 85 percent on training budgets because they can be used anywhere and at any time.
"By using simulations, schools do not have to pay for the cost of substitutes, travel or lodging," Mann says. "Instead of paying experts to repeat the same presentation over and over again, the simulation can be reused and revised at a fraction of the cost of conventional training."
The simulator also can be applied to professional development, employee assessment and graduate education.
VCU already is using the simulator as a teaching, learning and assessment tool in its Master of Teaching, Post Master's and Doctor of Education in Leadership programs.
"Like other urban districts, our principals are retiring and need to be replaced with high quality leaders," says Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Yvonne Brandon. "This simulation tool will allow us to assess those skills with the next generation of school leaders and make sure our future is secure."
A video about the simulator is available on YouTube.
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