Virtual Reality and the Art of Empathetic Teaching: Enhancing Teacher Education Through Perspective-Taking

Abstract

The use of Virtual Reality (VR) in teacher education can revolutionize the way teachers are trained and developed. This paper presents the development and evaluation of a dedicated VR application that aims to enhance teachers' competences through experiential and practical training in a safe and controllable virtual environment. More than 290 teachers from five different countries evaluated the VR application. The results indicate that perspective changing allows teachers to better experience the problems faced by students, allowing the cultivation of skills such as empathy, inclusion and diversity. Equally important is that preliminary results indicate that the VR implementation had a long-term impact on teachers’ perceptions and attitudes.