From Reflective Practice to Teacher Identity Development: A Qualitative Inquiry into Pre-Service Teachers’ Human and AI-Enhanced Individual and Collaborative Reflective Practice Perceptions and Experiences

Abstract

The current study aimed at exploring pre-service teachers’ perceptions and experiences of a multi-dimensional reflective framework engaging them in individual and collaborative reflection with peers, ChatGPT, and faculty expert through focused observations and critical incident analysis. The results of the larger study aiming at exploring the impacts of the professional development framework were reported somewhere else, yet the current research partially focuses on their perceptions and experiences. The data gathered from a cohort of 33 participants (F=19; M=14) through a self-administered questionnaire were analyzed using thematic content analysis conducted manually first and then with assistance from ChatGPT as a co-pilot to ensure reliability of the former.  There was a near-consensus regarding the role of the process to enhance teacher awareness of various classroom dynamics, foster a deeper understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement, i.e., sharpened noticing skills, thereby preparing them for future challenges and fostering the cultivation of a sustained discipline of critical and reflective thinking. Despite those widely acknowledged benefits, they were concerned about time and effort needed, quality and depth of feedback, and structural and logistical challenges. It ends with implications to avoid turning that well-intentioned idea into overwhelming pressure for pre- and in-service teachers.