Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

Transforming Teachers' Roles and Agencies in the Era of Generative AI: Perceptions, Acceptance, Knowledge, and Practices

Xiaoming Zhai

TL;DR

For GenAI to reach its full educational potential, teachers must not only accept and understand its capabilities but also integrate it deeply into their teaching practices, highlighting the need for quality teacher education programs, continuous professional development and institutional support.

Abstract

This paper explores the transformative impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) on teachers' roles and agencies in education, presenting a comprehensive framework that addresses teachers' perceptions, knowledge, acceptance, and practices of GenAI. As GenAI technologies, such as ChatGPT, become increasingly integrated into educational settings, teachers are required to adapt to evolving classroom dynamics, where AI plays a significant role in content creation, personalized learning, and student engagement. However, existing literature often treats these factors in isolation, overlooking how they collectively influence teachers' ability to effectively integrate GenAI into their pedagogical practices. This paper fills this gap by proposing a framework that categorizes teachers into four roles -- Observer, Adopter, Collaborator, and Innovator -- each representing different levels of GenAI engagement, outlining teachers' agencies in GenAI classrooms. By highlighting the need for continuous professional development and institutional support, we demonstrate how teachers can evolve from basic GenAI users to co-creators of knowledge alongside GenAI systems. The findings emphasize that for GenAI to reach its full educational potential, teachers must not only accept and understand its capabilities but also integrate it deeply into their teaching strategies. This study contributes to the growing literature on GenAI in education, offering practical implications for supporting teachers in navigating the complexities of GenAI adoption.

Transforming Teachers' Roles and Agencies in the Era of Generative AI: Perceptions, Acceptance, Knowledge, and Practices

TL;DR

For GenAI to reach its full educational potential, teachers must not only accept and understand its capabilities but also integrate it deeply into their teaching practices, highlighting the need for quality teacher education programs, continuous professional development and institutional support.

Abstract

This paper explores the transformative impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) on teachers' roles and agencies in education, presenting a comprehensive framework that addresses teachers' perceptions, knowledge, acceptance, and practices of GenAI. As GenAI technologies, such as ChatGPT, become increasingly integrated into educational settings, teachers are required to adapt to evolving classroom dynamics, where AI plays a significant role in content creation, personalized learning, and student engagement. However, existing literature often treats these factors in isolation, overlooking how they collectively influence teachers' ability to effectively integrate GenAI into their pedagogical practices. This paper fills this gap by proposing a framework that categorizes teachers into four roles -- Observer, Adopter, Collaborator, and Innovator -- each representing different levels of GenAI engagement, outlining teachers' agencies in GenAI classrooms. By highlighting the need for continuous professional development and institutional support, we demonstrate how teachers can evolve from basic GenAI users to co-creators of knowledge alongside GenAI systems. The findings emphasize that for GenAI to reach its full educational potential, teachers must not only accept and understand its capabilities but also integrate it deeply into their teaching strategies. This study contributes to the growing literature on GenAI in education, offering practical implications for supporting teachers in navigating the complexities of GenAI adoption.
Paper Structure (13 sections, 5 figures)

This paper contains 13 sections, 5 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Nature of Generative AI and Teachers’ Roles and Agencies
  3. Teachers’ Perceptions, Acceptance, Knowledge, and Practices of Generative AI
  4. Perceptions of Generative AI
  5. Acceptance of Generative AI
  6. Knowledge of Generative AI
  7. Practices Involving Generative AI
  8. A Framework: Transforming Teachers’ Roles and Agencies in the Era of Generative AI
  9. Awareness Stage: GenAI Observer
  10. Exploration Stage: GenAI Adopter
  11. Integration Stage: GenAI Collaborator
  12. Innovation Stage: GenAI Innovator
  13. Implications and Conclusions

Figures (5)

  • Figure 1: A Framework: Transforming Teachers’ Roles and Agencies in the Era of Generative AI
  • Figure 2: Quotations from teachers as GenAI Observers, who showed interest in GenAI
  • Figure 3: Activities that Teachers Reported Using GenAI as a Teaching Assistant (Nyaaba, Shi, et al., 2024)
  • Figure 4: Example of incorporating ChatGPT in lesson plans in a teaching method class (Lee & Zhai, 2024b)
  • Figure 5: The practice of collaborative learning with CLAIS (Lee, Mun, et al., 2023)