Reality Pedagogy/Virtual Reality

Reality Pedagogy is an approach to teaching and learning that focuses on teachers gaining an understanding of student realities, and then using this information as the starting point for instruction. It begins with the fundamental premise that students are the experts on how to teach, and students are the experts on content. Reality pedagogues/teachers believe that, for teaching and learning to happen, there has to be an exchange of expertise between students and teacher. For this exchange to happen, teachers need a set of tools called the “5 C’s” to gain insight into student realities, and allow students to express their true selves in the classroom. These tools are:

1. Cogenerative dialogues: Where teachers and students discuss the classroom and both suggest ways to improve it.

2. Coteaching: Where students get opportunities to learn content and then teach the class.

3. Cosmopolitanism: Where students have a role in how the class operates and in what is taught.

4. Context: Where the neighborhood and community of the school is seen as part of the classroom.

5. Content: Where the teacher has to acknowledge the limitations of his/her content knowledge and work to build his/her content expertise with students

VITUAL REALITY:

Virtual reality is widely used in the industry and is becoming more and more affordable for end users. At the same time higher education students want to be well-prepared for their professional life and expect more courses with practical application of theoretical knowledge acquired during their studies. Moreover, they benefit greatly when having the possibility to improve their soft skills.

The teaching methodology for a practical course in virtual reality for graduate and undergraduate students. The course design focuses on learning about virtual reality by simulating interdisciplinary industrial projects and it aims at developing skills such as methodical approach to practical engineering problems, teamwork, working in interdisciplinary groups and time management. In addition the paper discusses the importance of the course design, task specification and work group composition for a successful realization of the course and refers to some project examples from the past three years.

Keywords

• virtual reality
• higher education
• teaching methodology
• practical course
• interdisciplinary student project