In today's educational environment, digital technology plays a key role in designing and implementing learning processes, with generative artificial intelligence (GAI) models such as ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini recently gaining importance as they enable communication in natural language. Their use enables a personalized learning experience, encourages critical thinking, and raises new questions about ethics, bias, and data reliability. Despite the growing popularity of GAI, its role in education, especially at the classroom level, remains relatively unexplored. Therefore, we decided to examine the views of classroom teachers on using GAI in teaching and analyze its advantages, challenges, and impact on pedagogical practice as part of our master's thesis.
In the theoretical part, we defined the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) and explained the role of GAI in supporting the learning process. We presented how generative artificial intelligence enables the preparation of teaching materials, personalization of content, and immediate feedback. We emphasized the ethical aspects of using GAI in education, such as bias, data privacy, and the phenomenon of GAI »hallucination«.
In the empirical part, we analyzed teachers' opinions on the impact of GAI on teaching, their opinion on the effectiveness of GAI in preparing teaching materials and on its use in adapting teaching to the needs of students, and their opinion on its usefulness in differentiating and individualizing teaching. We also investigated teachers' views on using GAI for communication with students, parents, and colleagues. For this purpose, we conducted a quantitative study using a questionnaire. In the survey, we included teachers who teach grades 1 through 5 in primary schools throughout Slovenia.
The survey on the impact of GAI on teaching revealed diverse views among primary school teachers. Most of the participating teachers expressed moderate knowledge of GAI and its use, primarily to prepare teaching materials, find ideas for lessons, and simplify administrative tasks. Despite the recognized advantages, such as time efficiency and accessibility, teachers raised concerns about data reliability, the possibility of hallucinations, and ethical and pedagogical dilemmas. Many highlighted the need for appropriate training in the safe and critical use of GAI, especially in the context of its use with students. The study shows that teachers recognize GAI as a potentially valuable teaching aid but emphasize the importance of maintaining the teacher's role and developing digital literacy in the school environment.
The research results will thus contribute to a better understanding of the potential of GAI in primary education and enable the development of good practices for their use.
|
