(2229) DEALING WITH AGGRESSION IN THE CLASSROOM: ONLINE CLINICAL SIMULATIONS TO MEASURE MASTERY OF AGGRESSION MANAGEMENT COMPETENCES

摘要

Responding appropriately to aggression in the classroom is crucial to maintain a safe and productive learning environment. However, novice teachers often feel ill prepared to deal with aggression. In the present study, we explore the vision that teachers should be challenged in their Perception, Interpretation and Decision-making skills to foster competence development. Online clinical simulations seem promising to develop and stimulate these skills. Moreover, simulations allow educators to assess the competence development of pre-service teachers through reflection on their experiences. The present study focusses on the evaluation of the Perception, Interpretation and Decision-making skills linked to aggression management competences. 194 freshman students participated in an online clinical simulation focusing on verbal and/or physical aggressive situations in classrooms. Each student was confronted with video-clips of a classroom situation leading to aggression and was asked to write down (1) their Perception and (2) Interpretation of his/her observation. Afterwards, students were asked to describe the Decision they would have made as a teacher. Answers were coded based on a script derived from literature. Results indicate that students have difficulties in differentiating between what they Perceive and how to Interpret these observations; which affects their Decision-making skills.