Everyone Brings Something to the Table: A Culturally Sustaining Analysis of Teacher Candidates’ Mixed Reality Teaching Simulations

Discussions of HBCU students’ content knowledge have centered around developing high impact, asset-based approaches to learning (Williams et al, 2022). So, HBCU teacher preparation providers (TPPs) can also focus efforts on culturally sustaining approaches to developing candidates’ content knowledge and researching how high impact practices, like teaching simulations, can help prepare candidates for classrooms. This exploratory case study uses critical cases (n=2); findings suggest candidates have a developing understanding of content, which forms a solid basis for increasing their knowledge. MRTSs are addressed as a potential high impact, culturally sustaining practice for building candidates’ content knowledge. Further, HBCU TPPs can take more comprehensive approaches evaluating content knowledge and incorporating longitudinal studies to track candidates from program entry to graduation and into the teaching profession. HBCU TPPs are the focus of this study, but the implications may be useful for any TPP desiring to improve candidates’ academic and professional outcomes.