New Perspectives in Science Education
Complementing or Replacing the Teacher? Pre-Service Science Teachers’ Views on Artificial Intelligence
Dilara Melis Eren, Dokuz Eylül University, Buca Faculty of Education, Department of Mathematics and Science Education (Turkey)
Suat Türkoguz, Dokuz Eylul University, Buca Educational Faculty, Science Education Dept. (Turkey)
Abstract
The widespread use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education has raised questions about its role, boundaries, and implications for teachers’ professional responsibilities [1,2,3,4 & 5]. This study examined pre-service science teachers’ views on the role of AI in teaching, its areas and limits of use, and its integration into teacher education. The study employed a qualitative approach with 32 pre-service science teachers. After revising their experiment designs with AI support, participants responded to fully structured interview questions. Data were analyzed through content analysis using MAXQDA 24. Inter-coder agreement ranged from 79% to 96%, while Cohen’s kappa coefficients ranged from 0.80 to 0.96, with a mean of approximately 0.87. Findings showed that participants viewed AI primarily as a supportive tool rather than a replacement for teachers. Most participants emphasized its use in lesson planning and designing experiments and instructional materials. They also stressed that human control, verification, and pedagogical responsibility should remain with teachers. Moreover, 90.32% supported integrating AI into teacher education curricula, and 93.55% intended to use AI in their future professional practice. Overall, participants were highly open to AI use while maintaining clear expectations regarding teacher responsibility.
Keywords: Generative artificial intelligence, pre-service teachers, science education, teacher education, AI integration.
REFERENCES
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