Pilot shows promise and challenge of using simulations to prepare students for social work practice
Researchers report on the results of a pilot initiative on VR and actor-assisted teaching and learning at the NYU Silver School of Social Work
Amid a documented shortage of behavioral and mental health service providers in large urban areas, the use of VR simulations and actors in training the next generation of social workers shows promise, but the approach can be time-consuming for instructors, costly, and needs fine tuning, according to a new study.
The study reports on a pilot initiative in which simulation-based AI-assisted learning platforms as well as hired actors were woven into a foundational course in social work practice at NYU Silver for students interested in working in elementary and secondary schools.
Two sections of the two-semester course allowed students to engage with school-based social scenarios, receiving real-time feedback followed by extensive debriefings and discussions with their instructors.
“This pilot initiative has demonstrated that simulation cannot stand alone as a teaching method or simply be dropped into a syllabus without consideration or planning,’’ according to the study by NYU Silver researchers Anne Dempsey, Gabriella McBride, Jasmin Acevedo, and Nicholas Lanzieri. “Instead, thoughtful preparation, scaffolding and integration are required.”
While social work educators’ use of simulation nationally has “grown significantly” over the past decade, it is still in its early stages of development and deployment, according to the researchers’ article. The report on the pilot initiative detected the need for further testing.
The paper is titled “Teaching Note: Training the Next Generation of Social Workers Using Actors and Technology-Based Simulations. It appears in the research journal Studies in Clinical Social Work: Transforming Practice, Education, and Research.
The article, among other things, found through a review of the NYU Silver pilot initiative that:
· Preparing instructors to use the simulations meaningfully in the classroom is both “crucial” and time-consuming – from implementation to debriefing and assessing students on their experience.
· Given the often-limited number of simulation-trained educators at schools of social work, integrating the method across all of a school’s practice courses is logistically challenging and requires resources, infrastructure and the consistent investment of the institution.
· Some students reported feeling “significant anxiety and pressure before engaging in the exercises” and worrying about their mistakes, even though a simulation is designed to present a low-stakes scenario to prepare them for practice with real clients.
At the same time, the study demonstrated that when students are supported to take risks using the simulation aids and take account of the range of their emotional responses, they are able to learn a number of important practice skills, such as how to encourage engagement while maintaining boundaries with clients, conduct a risk assessment, and stay open to feedback during practicum work.
NYU Silver’s ongoing work on simulated teaching dates back several years, including a 2018 virtual training program, developed by Lanzieri, that helps students familiarize themselves with a New York City neighborhood before engaging in a practicum assignment there. Dempsey and Lanzieri are also collaborating with NYU Steinhardt and NYU Tandon on developing an AI-driven VR simulation that they intend to pilot with students and social work professionals in Spring 2026.
Journal
Studies in Clinical Social Work Transforming Practice Education and Research
Method of Research
Systematic review
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Teaching Note: Training the Next Generation of Social Workers Using Actors and Technology-Based Simulations
Article Publication Date
8-Oct-2025
