Assessing Pre-service Teachers’ Attitudes and Perceptions of Using Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom

Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED) is a powerful innovative technology that has the potential to dramatically change the way we teach students. While the possibilities are promising, there is still much to learn about how PreK-12 teachers will use AI in the classroom. Current pre-service teachers are graduating with limited exposure to AI and entering a field they could possibly be dominated by AI in a few short years. To understand the role teacher preparation programs, play in teaching students about AI, this study aimed to understand the current attitudes and perceptions of pre-service teachers toward AIED. Three areas of interest were uncovered, pre-service teachers’ knowledge and self-efficacy in the use of AI, pre-service teachers’ beliefs about using AI in their future classrooms, and pre-service teachers’ views of the necessity of AI being taught in teacher preparation programs. The hope is that this article will uncover the need to prepare pre-service teachers for utilizing AI in education.