The need for choice and control: preparing the digital generation to be teachers

In this paper we describe an online classroom-based simulation, ClassSim. The software was developed to enable pre-service teachers to interact with a virtual classroom environment as they assume the role of the teacher. The project built on the research of Herrington, Oliver and Reeves (2003) by investigating how the design elements of authentic learning environments they identified could be operationalised in simulation software to engage pre-service teachers in understanding the complex decisions needed to plan and implement reading and writing experiences for young children. With the support of a large grant from the Australian Research Council entitled: Investigating a classroom simulation designed to support pre-service teacher decision making in planning and implementing literacy teaching (DP0344011) we have engaged in iterative designs and accompanying trials of the software with more than 500 pre-service teachers studying within the Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongong, Australia. During these trials we noticed some trends in the ways in which pre-service teachers approached the software and report on the implications of these trends for instructional designers.