ESPLAT 2025 conference: Scientific thinking in challenging times

During their education, psychology students must develop their knowledge and skills to lead different groups. Leadership is a role that students will assume in their future professional practice. The leader's style and role are of great importance for the group's work and processes. Previous research and experience have shown the importance of including both theoretical and practical applications for lifelong learning. Against this backdrop, we aimed to explore if using a semi-virtual environment called TeachLivE, (i.e. a semi-virtual simulation with a human in the system) can act as a means of developing psychology students' leadership skills.

To test whether the semi-virtual environment TeachLivE works for leadership training and virtual practice in a pioneering spirit in psychology education, we developed a course theme about leadership and group processes, thus making the process between leader and follower visible. The theme consists of several mandatory elements to broaden (on a group level) and deepen (individually) knowledge and understanding of how a leader's style and role influence and are influenced by the processes in a group, based on four different types of leadership styles: transformative, transactional, passive/lassie-fair and authoritarian leadership. Each student will acquire knowledge regarding one of the various leadership styles and, in a workshop, individually test practising the style on a group of avatars in a virtual simulation environment, TeachLivE. The student's task is to help the group resolve internal conflicts as a psychologist.

The theme has been implemented once so far with positive outcomes, both in terms of student learning and appreciation, as emerged through feedback from oral group reflection, individual written assignments and course evaluation. The theme naturally contained some “childhood illnesses”, and there is room for improvement. In conclusion, two quotes from the students: “Very rewarding and educational”. “More TeachLivE”.