Poster 5:

What Makes Simulation-Based Learning Meaningful in Teacher Education?

Haled El-Said (Kaye Academic College of Education, Israel)

Simulation-based learning is widely used in teacher education, yet the conditions that make it meaningful remain underexplored. This qualitative phenomenological study examines the experiences of 15 pre-service teachers from Bedouin-Arab and Jewish communities in Israel. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically, guided by Self-Determination Theory. Findings identify five key components: preparation, authenticity, reflective debriefing, autonomy, and facilitation. The study suggests that meaningful simulation emerges as an integrated pedagogical ecosystem supporting autonomy, competence, and relatedness, thereby fostering professional identity development in culturally diverse teacher education contexts.