Questioning the “Magic” of a Generative Artificial Intelligence Platform with Pre-Service Elementary Teachers

• In Event: Preparing Future Educators in the Age of AI

Abstract

As teacher educators, we aim to prepare pre-service teachers who are not just technically competent, but who can critically engage with generative AI (GenAI) technologies. To achieve that aim, we led our students through a series of investigations of GenAI during a science pedagogy course for elementary, early childhood, and special education majors. This study examines how our students’ thinking about GenAI in their professional practice changed during our course. While a few of our students ended up as enthusiastic adopters or rejecters of GenAI, most advocated for a limited and cautious use of the technology. Our findings highlight the complexities of pre-service teachers’ thinking about GenAI, and how GenAI can be addressed in the science teacher education context.

Authors

• Jacob Pleasants, University of Oklahoma

• Madison Morris, University of Oklahoma