OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF CHATGPT IN CHEMISTRY: NARRATIVES OF PHILIPPINE PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS

Aging brings cognitive changes. Language is not immune to these changes. The use of compensation strategies may permit older adults to achieve a performance level identical to the one obtained by younger adults. This research aims to study text comprehension in aging and the reading strategies used for by older and younger adults. Kintsch's cognitive model (1988) allows the identification of different levels of representation within text treatment (linguistic form, macrostructure, microstructure and situation model) and predicts the underlying cognitive components. Eye-tracking analyses during reading permit inference about the moments of reading treatment and detection of reading strategies. Sixty highly educated participants were assessed. They were divided in two age groups (20-40 and 60-80 years old). Participants were asked to read and understand three texts constructed to highlight the features of text comprehension within each one of the different levels of text representation. The amount of detail and the necessity of updating the situation model varied for each text. Eye movements were registered by an eye-tracker (Cambridge research) during the reading process. Specific complementary tasks were administered to evaluate working memory, long-term memory, and executive functions. Variances analyses showed significantly lower performance by older adults regarding: 1) recall of the microstructure of the two texts with a high degree of detail, 2) macrostructure of the text with fewer details, and 3) performance on all tasks that evaluated cognitive components. Aging influenced treatment of levels of text representation depending on text characteristics. However, cluster analysis of the text comprehension and eye-tracker data revealed a group of older adults whose performance in reading comprehension was identical to the performance of younger adults, with the same reading profile. This result seems to show that use of compensation strategies by older adults at the onset of signs of cognitive deterioration is not necessary in reading.

In This Issue

Teachers' Sense of Efficacy: An Important Factor in School Improvement

Aim/Purpose: This study investigated how undergraduate and graduate students in a teacher education program perceived, used, and ethically reflected upon generative AI tools. The problem is the unclear state of preservice teachers’ understanding and use of generative AI in educational settings, which this study aimed to explain. Background: Given generative AI’s growing presence in education, this study addressed a gap in understanding by examining preservice teachers’ perceptions, experiences, and ethical concerns, particularly in relation to self-regulated learning. Methodology: A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was used to gather quantitative and qualitative data from 73 students enrolled in a teacher education program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and thematic analysis were used for data analysis. Contribution: This study contributes to the emerging literature by providing insights into preservice teachers’ usage patterns of generative AI, the relationship between AI use and self-regulatory skills, and a detailed examination of ethical concerns, informing effective AI integration into teacher education programs. Findings: Text-based generative AI was the most familiar tool among participants. The primary reasons for the use included editing papers, searching for new ideas, and understanding course material. A significant positive correlation was identified between information search with the help of generative AI and resource management skill. Key themes identified by thematic analysis included perceived benefits for student engagement and creativity, AI’s potential as a writing assistant, and ethical concerns about plagiarism and misuse. Overall, preservice teachers demonstrated surface-level use and a general lack of in-depth knowledge about AI integration. Recommendations for Practitioners: Teacher educators should provide explicit training in generative AI, including practical guidelines and clear ethical frameworks to foster effective and responsible integration into classroom practice. Recommendation for Researchers: Future researchers should develop validated measurement instruments specifically designed for studying generative AI perceptions and usage and explore longitudinal impacts as preservice teachers transition into professional teaching roles. Impact on Society: By guiding preservice teachers toward informed and ethical use of generative AI, this study supports broader societal goals of promoting digital literacy, ethical technology integration, and enhanced learning experiences for future generations. Future Research: Subsequent research should further explore reasons behind the limited adoption of generative AI among preservice teachers, examine the long-term impacts of AI use on pedagogical practices, and investigate structured frameworks for promoting deeper AI integration within the teaching and learning domain.

Propositional density, a semantic index, calculates the number of idea units within a sentence. While research has shown that propositional density can influence comprehension, its effects on different levels of memory representation, namely, the surface form, textbase, and situation model, remain unexplored. The current study examined how varying levels of propositional density of the context on which target sentences were embedded affected memory at these different levels of representation. A sample of 120 native English speakers read historical texts with either low or high propositional density and then completed recognition tasks targeting each level. Our results indicated that lower propositional density improved memory for the surface form, while higher density enhanced memory for the textbase. Propositional density had no meaningful effect on the situation model level. These findings suggest a complex relationship between propositional density and memory: Higher density appears to impair memory at the surface form level but may create a desirable difficulty to strengthen memory at the textbase level. However, comprehension, as reflected by the situation model level, remains largely unaffected, suggesting that global comprehension relies more on coherence-building and prior knowledge integration than on local semantic density. These findings inform models of discourse processing and have implications for text design, instructional strategies, and cognitive load management in reading comprehension.

Selective attention refers to the ability to selectively act upon relevant information at the expense of irrelevant information. Yet, in many experimental tasks, what happens to the representation of the irrelevant information is still debated. Typically, 2 approaches to distractor processing have been suggested, namely distractor inhibition and distractor-based retrieval. However, it is also typical that both processes are hard to disentangle. For instance, in the negative priming literature (for a review Frings, Schneider, & Fox, 2015) this has been a continuous debate since the early 1980s. In the present study, we attempted to prove that both processes exist, but that they reflect distractor processing at different levels of representation. Distractor inhibition impacts stimulus representation, whereas distractor-based retrieval impacts mainly motor processes. We investigated both processes in a distractor-priming task, which enables an independent measurement of both processes. For our argument that both processes impact different levels of distractor representation, we estimated the exponential parameter (τ) and Gaussian components (μ, σ) of the exponential Gaussian reaction-time (RT) distribution, which have previously been used to independently test the effects of cognitive and motor processes (e.g., Moutsopoulou & Waszak, 2012). The distractor-based retrieval effect was evident for the Gaussian component, which is typically discussed as reflecting motor processes, but not for the exponential parameter, whereas the inhibition component was evident for the exponential parameter, which is typically discussed as reflecting cognitive processes, but not for the Gaussian parameter. (PsycINFO Database Record

Extensive research about the impact of classroom supervisors' feedback has established it as asignificant indicator of pre-service teachers’ success as teachers. However, there is missingliterature of corresponding depth that documents the impact that feedback, inclusive of the widercontext of the entire professional placement (placement feedback), holds for the success of pre-service teachers’ professional identification as teachers. My significant original contribution toalleviate this deficit, is the understanding reached in this inquiry that documents the quality-proofing practices that these pre-service teachers innovated from their placement feedback intohigh quality teaching practice like that of qualified teachers. This professional understanding willinform a range of stakeholders committed to addressing issues of quality teaching in initial teachereducation to support pre-service teachers in mandated contexts of professional experienceplacement.Evidence from three further sources motivated my commitment to this research inquiry for that verycharter of support. The first source was evidence in the literature-as-data that showed thesustained impact of the global “crisis of confidence” in teachers and their pre-service counterpartsas professionals. Widespread calls for the standardisation of teachers’ work on a global and localscale have driven reforms in the Schools and Higher (Initial Teacher) Education sectors that haveset professional work performance for pre-service teachers at standards reflecting the world classOECD level. Second, was the widespread issue for more rigorous scrutiny of entrants suitable forinitial teacher education programs and the quality of the program, itself. The third motivating factorwas my own extensive professional supervision and teacher-support roles with pre-serviceteachers, their classroom supervising teachers, and their placement co-ordinators. These rolesspanned some decades; initially, in my role as a classroom supervising teacher; a teacher co-ordinator and researcher for a national university in a remote indigenous location, a lecturer/tutor inregional and capital city teacher education programs; then more recently, as a professional liaisonofficer working within a coastal regional university-to-school-partnership of professional experienceplacement.Altogether, these motivations directed the inquiry through the pursuit of the main researchquestion: What is the contribution of placement feedback to pre-service teachers’ professionalidentity formation? This question assumed an unexplored connection or impact between twodifferentiated phenomena for pre-service teachers while at placement: (i) their feedback and (ii)their identification as teachers. To explore this assumption, the research design needed to bepractice led and recently experienced so that participants could capture the essence of thephenomenon of what-it-was-like-for-them-living-through-placement-feedback. So, I developed abespoke design of a phenomenology of professional practice, using a suite of mixed methods ofphenomenological, qualitative and quantitative analysis within an evidence-based epistemologicalframework. Twelve volunteer participants joined the inquiry from several teacher education cohortsof a well-established Australian university across two different campuses, one regional and onemetropolitan. They engaged in individual person-to-person conversations, semi-structuredinterviews and in online discussion; before, during and / or after placement in the role of pre-service teachers.Thematic analysis of the cache of data revealed five overall findings that ‘quality-proofed’participants’ recognition as professional teachers. Four major findings were the following sub-ordinate themes: 1. Pedagogical practices, 2. Professional communication, 3. Relationship-buildingpractices and 4. Professional learning and placement workplace responsibilities. The fifth findingwas the overlapping zone of shared codes from the sub-ordinate themes: the super-ordinate themeof professional relationality. Professional relationality enacted by pre-service teachers involvedmastery of a complex collaborative capability with placement feedback to develop coreprofessional pedagogical practices that gained recognition for themselves as professionalteachers.As the contribution of placement feedback to professional identification for pre-service teachers,was documented as professional relationality, it became evident that this was ground-breakingresearch for two reasons. First was that their recognition as a functioning classroom teacher wasessentially contingent upon their capacity with professional relationality and placement feedback.The second reason was that knowledge of this would impact a range of stakeholders. Potential andcurrent teaching candidates would benefit from knowing the relational capacity required of them tobe recognised as teachers, given the quality of their engagement with their placement feedback.Future and existing classroom supervising teachers would know the quality of placement feedbackrequired of them and could tailor their preparation to provide it. Teacher education providers andteacher educators would also have an evidence-base to guide course content to includeengagement with placement feedback as a distinct high-quality form of feedback-as-a-pedagogical-professional that can make or break pre-service teachers’ sense of themselves asteachers. An added significant contribution of this inquiry was my appreciation of a phenomenologyof practice as a research practice methodology to explore phenomena of individual pre-serviceteachers transforming their professional pedagogical practice in the placement field. Essential tothis effectiveness was the triple hermeneutic, a meaning-making set of conditions of professionalresearch that highlighted the relationship between the researched, the researcher and the researchstakeholders.

As generative AI (GAI) tools become increasingly embedded in educational contexts, understanding their intersection with learner autonomy is critical—particularly in teacher education. This study explores the evolving synergy between pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) use of GAI tools and their heutagogical orientations, with attention to disciplinary differences. A quantitative analysis was conducted with 181 PSTs (103 from Humanities and 78 from Math and Science), who completed a validated questionnaire based on Blaschke’s four core principles of heutagogy. Results indicate a positive relationship between GAI usage and heutagogical orientation, with Humanities PSTs reporting significantly higher levels of self-regulated and reflective learning principles. While the overall frequency of GAI use did not differ by discipline, its pedagogical implications did: linguistic applications (e.g., writing assistance, translation) were more strongly associated with reflection and metacognition among Humanities students, whereas multimedia-based GAI usage correlated with enhanced problem-solving confidence, reflecting the self-efficacy principle, across both groups. Notably, the cybergogy principle—autonomous learning in digital environments—emerged as most closely linked to GAI engagement, particularly among Humanities participants. Age and program track also influenced outcomes, with younger and secondary-track PSTs demonstrating greater adaptability to digital learning. These findings suggest that while GAI tools are broadly accessible, their transformative potential in teacher education depends on aligning technological integration with disciplinary cultures and learner agency. Fostering this synergy requires teacher education programs to support not only digital fluency but also reflective, self-determined learning across diverse educational contexts.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine changes in eight preservice teachers’ professional identity and the factors contributing to such changes during a four-week block practicum.Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative case study design was used and the data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with preservice teachers and their mentors, reflective journals and observation checklists. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data.Findings– The findings showed high levels of confidence and development of teacher voice by the end of their four-week block practicum. The findings also suggested that positive mentoring relationships contributed to changes in the preservice teachers’ teacher identity.Research limitations/implications– Despite focussing on a relatively small number of preservice secondary teachers during the first four-week practicum of a single teacher education program at a Western Australian University, this research highlights the need to maintain constructive mentoring relationships with preservice teachers to provide positive influences on their professional identity. In order to facilitate this, preservice teacher education programs should provide thorough training for mentor teachers.Originality/value– This work highlighted the crucial role of mentor teachers in creating positive impacts on preservice teachers’ professional identity, such as development of their confidence and teacher voice. This paper provides useful insights for researchers, mentor teachers, and preservice teacher education policy developers.

Drawing on Vygotskian sociocultural theory, particularly genetic method and activity theory, and using a qualitative case study design, the present study explored the professional experiences of three preservice English as an additional language (EAL) teachers in secondary schools in Victoria, Australia. Specifically, it sought to understand the preservice teachers as learners of EAL teaching, the context of the EAL professional experiences, and the preservice teachers’ activity of learning to teach EAL in relation to personal and contextual factors. The study was conducted at Greystone University and its three partnership secondary schools in Victoria, including Redwood Secondary College, Greenfern Secondary College and Bluerock Grammar School. Research participants included three preservice teachers of the Graduate Diploma of Education program at Greystone, three mentor teachers working at the partnership schools, and two academics working at the university. Data were collected through interviews, stimulated recalls, the preservice teachers’ self-reflections, and analysis of documents, lesson plans, audio-recorded lessons, and teaching materials. Qualitative content analysis was conducted with the support of NVivo10 software. A joint activity system of preservice EAL teaching and mentoring was constructed for each preservice teacher/mentor teacher pair based on the results of qualitative content analysis, and this served as a unit of analysis. The study found that the preservice teachers brought a range of personal factors to the professional experiences and these developed in interaction with various contextual factors inherent in the practicum settings in shaping their professional experiences. Major personal factors included prior beliefs, educational experience, teaching experience, non-native English speaking (NNES) background, professional identity, emotions, and other personal factors. Influential contextual factors included policies, curriculum, rules, tools, division of labour, interactions with mentor teachers, learners, and other community members. Data analysis also shows instances of professional development as a result of the interaction between the persons of the preservice teachers as learners of teaching, the context of learning to teach, and the activity of learning to teach. All the three preservice teachers developed their professional identity as an important part of their professional socialisation process. Each participant also demonstrated areas of developing EAL teaching expertise through appropriation of mediating tools. The findings support the view that contextual and personal factors are crucial for understanding preservice teachers’ professional learning during the school-based professional experience and extend the literature on the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) professional experience by providing comprehensive and systematic insights into preservice school-based EAL teaching. Together with theoretical and research contributions, the study has a number of implications for EAL teacher education practices in terms of developing the knowledge base for EAL teaching and an effective model of professional experience for EAL preservice teachers.

Teachers' professional identity, defined as the complex of teachers' self-concept based on experiences, beliefs, values, and motives towards their profession and internalized professional roles (Chen et al., 2023; Korthagen, 2004), is a central element of teachers’ career development and largely determines their professional commitment and performance (Day et al., 2005; Mahmoudi-Gahrouei et al., 2016). Studies have shown that external factors, such as educational policies, teacher support, and parental expectations, as well as internal factors like teaching motivation and academic self-efficacy, can predict pre-service teachers' professional identity (Zhang & Zhao, 2016; Zhang et al., 2017; Whiston & Keller, 2004; Schepens et al., 2009). However, there is a lack of systematic research on the impact of perceived parental expectations on pre-service teachers' professional identity and its mechanisms, especially for pre-service physical education (PE) teachers in China. This study aimed to explore the chain mediating relationship among perceived parental expectations, academic self-efficacy, motivation to teach, and professional identity of pre-service PE teachers in China. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for future research to design interventions to enhance professional identity, thus increasing professional commitment and teaching performance. Method: Participants were 401 undergraduate and graduate students majoring in PE from six Chinese normal universities. Questionnaires were administered online to measure perceived parental expectations, academic self-efficacy, teaching motivation, and professional identity, as well as demographic information. Internal consistency and Pearson correlation were conducted using SPSS 26.0. Structural equation modelling was conducted to test the conceptual model using Mplus8.3. There were significant correlations among perceived parental expectations, academic self-efficacy, motivation to teach, and professional identity (p < .01). The model fit indices were CFI=0.954, TLI=0.945, and RMSEA=0.072. The mediating effect of academic self-efficacy on the perceived parental expectations and professional identity relationship was not significant (95% CI [-0.002, 0.046]), whilst the mediating role of motivation to teach on the perceived parental expectations and professional identity relationship was significant (95% CI [0.054, 0.224]). The chain mediating effect of academic self-efficacy and motivation to teach on the perceived parental expectations and professional identity relationship was found to be significant (95% CI [0.021, 0.099]). Perceived parental expectations could enhance pre-service PE teachers’ professional identity by increasing pre-service PE teachers’ academic self-efficacy and motivation to teach. The improvement of pre-service teacher education and training programs and the collaboration between families and educational institutions should be well considered to enhance pre-service PE teachers’ professional identity.

Despite abundant research on the pedagogical benefits of generative AI (GenAI) in ELT, teachers’ agentive use of GenAI in an instructional context has not been fully explored. How pre-service teachers utilize GenAI in teacher-training courses also remains unclear. Thus, grounded in the framework of teacher agency and professional development, this study explored pre-service English teachers’ perceptions of engaging in a GenAI-enhanced lesson design project. Thematic analysis of interviews and reflection papers from eighteen pre-service English teachers who participated in lesson design with diverse GenAI tools revealed their agentive use of GenAI in two aspects: (1) agentive role in teacher–GenAI collaboration; (2) responsible GenAI use to address its constraints. The findings highlight the importance of pre-service teacher agency in leveraging GenAI for ELT. Pedagogical implications for training pre-service teachers in GenAI literacy are discussed.

As generative AI (GenAI) becomes an integral component of the socio-technical landscape in teaching and learning, it is crucial for teacher education programs to prepare pre-service teachers to assess its affordances and limitations. However, research on pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward GenAI is still emerging. Understanding these perspectives is essential for informing teacher education programs about where pre-service teachers stand and how to advance their AI literacy. This article explores pre-service teachers’ understanding and application of GenAI for their envisioned future classrooms. We collected data from pre-service teachers at a Midwestern United States public university, analyzing 17 survey responses quantitatively and conducting qualitative analyses of eight interviews and two lesson design challenge case studies. Our findings indicate that pre-service teachers generally held positive views about GenAI, particularly in terms of its potential for lesson planning, resource creation, and reducing workload. However, they expressed concerns about students’ over-reliance on AI, which they thought could potentially undermine teacher-student interactions. Furthermore, the study found that pre-service teachers identified limitations while using ChatGPT for lesson design and recognized its shortcomings, especially when they had strong content knowledge.

Objectives This study aimed to analyze the perceptual changes experienced by pre-service teachers as they derived the final products of lesson plans using generative AI, and to explore educational implications for enhancing their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). Methods For this purpose, a preliminary training on the educational use of generative AI was conducted for 20 students in a teacher education course at A Education Graduate School in Seoul. Subsequently, the students explored applicable lesson design strategies for various subjects and reflected on these processes and experiences through mid-term assignments, which were then qualitatively analyzed based on the TPACK framework. Results Firstly, pre-service teachers recognized the educational utility of selecting and using generative AI tools aligned with educational objectives and confirmed their potential as tools for delivering subject content. Secondly, through experiencing the limitations of generative AI, they recognized the importance of carefully integrating technology and cultivating digital and AI literacy among teachers. It was found that their repeated and experimental approaches to lesson design contributed to the enhancement of problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Thirdly, pre-service teachers who were initially hesitant to use generative AI developed a positive perception and showed a willingness to use it more extensively in lesson design. Lastly, they were able to effectively integrate elements of generative AI and TPACK, developing new and innovative customized teaching methods and strategies suitable for each subject, and expanded their educational thinking and perspectives by experiencing lesson design cases from fellow pre-service teachers. Conclusions Teacher training institutions should develop and operate more practical curricula that include excellent examples of technology-integrated classes and practical exercises. Additionally, the curriculum should include content that simulates real issues encountered while using generative AI, and develop customized professional courses that facilitate the systematic integration of generative AI according to each major.

Educational systems in Scandinavia have long been concerned with Bildung in relation to digital technologies. The rise of generative AI (GenAI) has renewed this attention as GenAI reshapes how learners engage with knowledge, culture and society. This study explores how teacher educators conceptualize Bildung and respond to challenges posed by GenAI in teacher education. Through reflexive thematic analysis, framed by interpretative repertoires, we explore 20 semi-structured interviews with teacher educators and analyze their discursive understandings of Bildung and GenAI. We identified three Bildung repertoires: Individual Bildung (individual becoming), Social/Societal Bildung (growth through encountering the ‘other’), and Teacher-Professional Bildung (professional becoming). These repertoires frame Bildung as a relational, reflective, value-based process, challenged by efficiency-driven educational discourses and GenAI’s affordances. Teacher educators also articulated three GenAI repertoires: phenomenological (the illusion of meaning-making), epistemological (blurring distinctions between information and knowledge) and ontological (disrupting human being and agency). Teacher educators expressed ambivalence, perceiving GenAI as both a threat to Bildung ideals and a catalyst for renewed reflection on educational purposes. We propose that teacher education and schools address GenAI as a phenomenon, foster epistemological awareness, and engage with ontological questions about being and becoming in a digital age.