Examining Future Teachers’ Connections to AI Use: Critical Understandings about Creative Authorship

• In Event: AERA Research in Progress Roundtable Session Five
  In Invited Roundtable: Research-in-Progress RT020 (Sunday)

Abstract

This pilot study examines how generative artificial intelligence (AI) shapes digital literacies, authorship, and learning among undergraduate and graduate students preparing to become educators. Participants created and critically evaluated AI- and non-AI-generated texts and images, reflecting on issues of authorship, ethics, and creativity. Data included written reflections, collaborative digital whiteboards, and recorded discussions capturing participants’ evolving understandings of AI and its relevance to their academic and professional identities. Findings indicate that participants recognized AI’s potential to enhance efficiency and creativity while expressing concern about its ethical and cultural limitations. By positioning participants as both creators and evaluators, the study offers insights to inform pedagogy and future research on AI integration in education.

Author

• Elizabeth Boyce, The University of Arizona