Dr. Rachel Tatro-Duarte, Ed.D.
“Perhaps it’s time for us to — not say goodbye to what learning in the classroom used to look like pre-Covid — but welcome VR, the newcomer, into our brave new post-Covid educational world.”

Dr. Rachel Tatro-Duarte is a California Community College professor at Porterville College, author, and mentor. She has extensive expertise and a passion for Virtual Reality (VR) and Immersive Learning. With years of teaching and leadership, she is passionate about empowering learners to reach their full potential and making learning fun. Dr. Tatro-Duarte has a BA and an MA in English Literature and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership. Her dissertation research focused on using learning technologies, specifically Virtual Reality, to enhance deep learning in the higher ed classroom. Rachel has also developed the VR Learning Model, which articulates concatenated stages by which participants experience Adaptability, Transitionality, Fusion, Enhancement, and Knowledge Transference. As a student, Rachel had the opportunity to study Sappho in Greece. As an NEH scholar, she traveled to southern Switzerland and Italy to learn about the Etruscans and early Italy. These immersive experiences allowed her to learn at a deeper level. Her goal is to recreate this kind of immersive experiential learning in her classrooms using VR to provide a way for students to make necessary textual connections beyond the classroom.

Brought to you by:

Perkins Reserve Innovation Grant
Closing Equity Gaps in Skills and Employment
Pathways to Self-Sufficiency for Adult Learners