Effective communication skills in simulated practice experiences for preservice teachers

Effective collaboration is essential to supporting the diverse needs of students with disabilities. Teachers must collaborate effectively by communicating with other professionals and families to create accessible instruction; however, few opportunities exist for preservice teachers to practice communicating effectively. Promising findings have been reported for simulated practice involving instruction; however, little is known about simulated practice involving effective communication. We conducted a conceptual replication, utilizing a randomized pretest-posttest design to compare the effects of two practice experiences: mixed reality simulation and peer roleplay. Participants included 31 preservice teachers in an introduction to special education course. Across groups, participants increased their communication skills, significant differences between groups at post-test were revealed, and a cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted. We discuss implications for both teacher educators and researchers.