Knowledge, Critique, and Practice: A Conceptual Model for Understanding and Designing Pre-Service Teachers’ AI Training

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 7:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Human–AI Partnerships, Ethics, and Reflective Practice

Abstract

This paper proposes a conceptual model for pre-service teachers’ AI literacy training, developed through a synthesis of ten recent empirical studies. The model organizes AI literacy training into three interconnected domains: Foundational, Critical & Ethical, and Professional & Pedagogical. It highlights that these domains are not isolated skills but operate in a dynamic feedback loop, where understanding AI, critiquing its implications, and applying it in practice continuously inform one another. The analysis also identifies the pedagogical approaches that activate these connections, such as direct instruction, experiential learning, and task-based activities. This model offers a practical tool for designing integrated pre-service training programs and provides a framework for future research to evaluate AI literacy interventions in teacher education.

Author

• Mazid Ul Hasan, University of Cincinnati