Using video-elicitation focus group interviews to explore pre-service science teachers’ views and reasoning on artificial intelligence

Abstract

Using video-elicitation focus group interviews, this study aims to reveal pre-service science teachers’ perspectives and reasoning on artificial intelligence as a socioscientific issues-based scenario. Hence, it illustrates the ways the video data were used in the focus group elicitation interviews to understand their interpretations of how their beliefs align with a hypothetical future scenario around artificial intelligence. To demonstrate the phenomenon in depth, a case study design was used. The participants of the study involved 45 third and fourth-year undergraduate students enrolled in a science teacher education programme. For this study, the researcher conducted six open-ended, unstructured video-elicitation focus group interviews. The data was analysed using Dey’s (1993. Qualitative data analysis: A user-friendly guide for social scientists. Routledge) qualitative analysis steps of description, qualification, and association. The findings indicated that the participants’ views and reasoning vary in the context of artificial intelligence technologies. The fictional scenario depicted in the video-elicitation interviews both helped and challenged them to share their perspectives on the issue. Moreover, several aspects of SSI were thoroughly discussed during the interviews.