We know that hands-on experience helps people build confidence and master skills that will lead to improved outcomes for youth with disabilities. Therefore, we want to go beyond online coursework to give you a chance to use your knowledge and practice your skills in everyday engagement scenarios with youth and employers.

Skill Enhancement Exercises

Hands-on practice experiences are key to applying new information and skills. Toward that end, we developed topic-specific skill enhancement exercises. Course 1 focuses on tailoring your counseling approach to meet the needs of students with various disabilities. Course 2 focuses on individual and group counseling with adolescents with disabilities. Course 3 focuses on effective communication skills to engage employers in promoting work experiences for youth with disabilities.

The SEEs are delivered on three different platforms, offering an immersive experience. The platforms are as follows:

• Engaging with live avatars in an online virtual simulation environment
• Role-playing with peers in an online virtual reality environment, using VR headsets
• Engaging with an AI avatar in an online virtual reality environment

Each exercise scenario is scripted to introduce common challenges VR counselors encounter in the field. In the Individual Counseling scenarios, participants will engage with a youth and his/her parents. In the Group Counseling scenarios, the participant will engage with a group of youth with different disabilities. In the Employer Engagement scenarios, each participant will engage with one of four employers with distinct business concerns and labor needs.

Regardless of the training modality to which they are assigned or choose, each participant will complete six (6) one-hour practice sessions outlined below.

Course 2: Individual Counseling

• • • • • • • Intake interview with a student and a parent, Part 1
            • Progress review meeting with a student and parent, Part 2

Group Counseling

• • • • • • • Career Exploration, Part 1
            • Career Exploration, Part 2

Course 3: Employer Engagement

• • • • • • • Identify employer labor needs, Part 1
            • Pitch qualified candidate to meet needs, Part 2

In every exercise, participants will be accompanied by a skilled instructor who will facilitate the exercise and provide encouragement and immediate feedback.

Each experience will be a rich opportunity to learn, and a safe place to make mistakes.

Preparation for a Skill Enhancement Exercise

After completing each course, the participant will receive an invitation to the Skill Enhancement Exercise Lab. Each SEE lab includes:

• An explanation of the SEE platform and a tutorial on how to use it
• An assignment outlining the performance expectations of the SEE
• Helpful background information, tips, and tools to help the participant prepare for the SEE
• Evaluation of the SEE

Participants will choose their session dates and times from a calendar provided by the training team. The graphic below illustrates the SEE process.

Evaluation of Skill Enhancement Exercises

We intend to create exercises that work for our participants. We are committed to ongoing improvement. Toward that end, we'll be asking:

• How was the learning experience for you?
• Did the platform help you learn or get in your way?
• Do you have any feedback, good or bad.
• What would you recommend to make it better?

Up Next: Descriptions and video samples of the various skill enhancement exercise (SEE) platforms, beginning with Virtual Simulation.