Examining the views of primary school teachers on the use of artificial intelligence in education

Abstract

In today's rapidly advancing world, science and technology impact every aspect of our lives. Therefore, this study aims to reveal the views of primary school teachers on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in education, which are rapidly gaining popularity and leading to competition among major companies and countries. In this study, the basic qualitative research design, which is part of the qualitative research paradigm, was adopted. For this purpose, the study group consisted of 16 primary school teachers working at the Board of Education. The data intended to be collected within the scope of the research was obtained through a semi-structured interview form prepared by the researchers after obtaining expert opinion. The data obtained in the study were analyzed using content analysis in the MaxQDA 2020 program. The findings of the research were coded by two different researchers, and inter-coder reliability was calculated according to the Miles and Huberman formula. As a result of the calculation, the reliability of the research was found to be 92%. The findings of the study revealed that while the views of primary school teachers on the use of AI in education are generally positive, it is emphasized that these technologies should not replace teachers but should be supportive tools in the teaching process. Another finding of the study is that primary school teachers' views on the advantages of using AI in education include providing personalized learning experiences, rapid feedback, individual performance evaluation and monitoring, time saving, practicality, preparing effective and engaging learning materials, and increasing student motivation during the learning process. On the other hand, it was found that primary school teachers' views on the disadvantages of using AI in education include making students lazy, data privacy and ethical issues, reducing social interaction, and making human minds lazy. Based on the findings of the research, teachers' opinions considering the potential positive impacts of AI-supported education suggest that AI-supported tools should provide feedback by identifying students' strengths and weaknesses and focus on individual learning differences and needs. According to teachers' opinions considering the potential negative impacts of AI-supported education, such as causing laziness, ready-made solutions, reduced socialization skills, decreased interaction both in and out of the classroom, and suppression of research, exploration, and creativity skills, it is recommended to allocate time for emotional and intellectual sharing in teacher-student relationships, support and encourage students' creative thinking and artistic talents, and organize activities that provide opportunities for socialization.