In This Issue

Tech Topics
Teaching Group Dynamics Using Virtual Reality
by Brendan Beal, MSW, Ph.D.
Social work students at the University of Montevallo test out a virtual reality group dynamics simulator using the HTC Vive. Shown from left to
right: Rebecca Green, Nikki Sanders, Caitlin Waldrop, and (in the VR headset) Audrey Bearss. Photo credit: Brendan Beal.
Social work students have been
using simulation to practice skills
for many years now. Role-plays
and standardized clients are examples.
Students have also been using a basic
form of virtual reality (VR) to practice
skills, as well. For an example of this,
think of computer simulations, on a
screen, similar to Second Life or any
other avatar-based game that allows a
student to play a social worker or otherwise
interact with environments that a
social worker might see in the field. But
recent developments have taken this
kind of simulation to a deeper level.
With this year’s release of commercial
VR head-mounted displays (HMDs),
role-plays and simulations are now
many times more immersive.
The BSW program at the University
of Montevallo in Alabama is testing
out a VR group dynamics simulator.
The simulator, once it is developed further,
will immerse one student at a time
within a virtual setting. When the student
puts the headset on, the student’s
field of vision is completely encompassed
by an environment that looks
like a classroom with four seated virtual
clients in front of the student. The
student can walk around within this
environment and use small, wireless
controllers to point and select clients or
other options. When a client is selected,
he or she starts a pre-recorded dialogue,
full of rich descriptions of issues the
client is having that day. Amateur voice
actors within the university’s theater
program have lent their talents to
record the dialogues. The presence of
these virtual group members is incredibly
immersive, and the sentiment of
most people who enter the simulation is
that they feel as if they are really there.
This VR experience is being
developed for a Social Work with
Small Groups class, so the decisions
the students make within the simulation
relate to group leadership assessment
and practicing action skills. For
example, they can call on clients and,
after receiving a bit of dialogue, can ask
the clients to “tell me more,” “interrupt
and move on,” or suggest other steps
for the group to take to achieve the
group’s goals. These activities, coupled
with the immersive environment that
only a VR HMD can provide, make for
a unique learning experience.
This particular simulation, paid for
in part by the Montevallo Research for
Creative Projects grant, is still months
away from being fully functional.
Eventually, the simulation will be able
to guide the student through the group
therapy session, challenging the student
to make decisions regarding group
leadership and giving students a grade
at the end based on the choices they
make. It will be replayable many times
over if the student wants to practice
these skills further. Elements to be
added in this version of the simulation
include a client “blow-up,” in which the
avatar yells at the group leader, and a
20 The New Social Worker Winter 2017