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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1468900

University Teachers´ Beliefs about the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence for Teaching and Learning

Provisionally accepted
Beatriz Cabellos Beatriz Cabellos 1,2*Carlos De Aldama Carlos De Aldama 3Juan-Ignacio Pozo Juan-Ignacio Pozo 2
  • 1 Centro de Enseñanza Superior Cardenal Cisneros, Madrid, Catalonia, Spain
  • 2 Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Madrid, Spain
  • 3 Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Madrid, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The growing presence of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in our society, particularly in the educational field, is undeniable. This fact has led to various studies on its implications for learning and teaching. However, as with other technological resources, these implications will depend on how teachers use GenAI. Therefore, it is essential to identify teachers' beliefs regarding the use of GenAI for teaching and learning. To this end, a questionnaire was designed and completed by 321 university teachers. This questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first included questions about the participants' demographic information and a Likert scale on teachers' pedagogical beliefs. The second part consisted of a 32-item Likert scale that evaluated teachers' beliefs about the impact of GenAI on their students' learning and their own teaching. These aspects were reflected through items that considered GenAI as either an educational opportunity or a threat. The results showed that, of all the variables analyzed, only pedagogical beliefs and the frequency of previous GenAI use influenced beliefs about GenAI usage. Specifically, teachers with constructivist beliefs saw greater potential in GenAI compared to others. Similarly, teachers who regularly used these technologies had more positive beliefs about their educational use than those who used them sporadically or not at all. Lastly, it was also observed that while teachers valued the positive effects of GenAI on their teaching work, they also considered that its use could be detrimental to the learning processes of their students, making them more superficial. These findings underline the importance of providing teachers with training focused on constructive approaches that enable them to maximize the potential of GenAI in education. In particular, it is crucial to promote teaching practices that, through student-centered GenAI use, foster active and reflective processes in students, aligned with the competencies demanded by today's society.

    Keywords: Generative artificial intelligence, Teacher beliefs, Use of GenAI, pedagogical beliefs, Teachers practices

    Received: 22 Jul 2024; Accepted: 29 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Cabellos, De Aldama and Pozo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Beatriz Cabellos, Centro de Enseñanza Superior Cardenal Cisneros, Madrid, Catalonia, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.