The educational landscape is evolving rapidly, and at the center of this shift is generative artificial intelligence (AI). From writing assistants and feedback tools to systems that help design lessons or assess student work, AI is already reshaping how we teach, learn, and lead.
At the School of Education at the College of Charleston, we’re launching a year-long research project to understand this transformation. Led by a collaborative team of faculty, staff, and leadership, our study aims to explore not just the emerging uses of AI in education but also how our own perceptions and practices shift as we engage with these technologies.
At the heart of this transformation are the current students in pre-service teachers’ training programs. These future educators stand at a unique crossroads. On one hand, they’re learning the foundational principles of instruction; on the other, they’re navigating cutting-edge technologies that could redefine reading, writing, and communication for the next generation of learners.
Why This Research Matters
Unlike students in other disciplines, pre-service literacy educators face a dual challenge: they must determine how to responsibly use generative AI in their own academic work and begin developing pedagogical strategies to guide their future students in doing the same. Despite their pivotal role, we know surprisingly little about how these emerging teachers perceive and engage with AI in learning contexts.
We’re approaching this work with curiosity and care, guided by some areas of our own questions and concerns.
- How are educators, staff, and administrators experiencing and responding to generative AI?
- In what ways does AI use vary across disciplines, roles, and student groups?
- What opportunities and challenges does AI introduce into teaching, learning, and assessment?
- How can we promote ethical, equitable, and effective uses of AI in our classrooms and programs?
Research Objectives
This study aims to:
- Understand student perceptions of generative AI in language and literacy education—exploring how they currently use these tools, what benefits and challenges they perceive, and how they might integrate AI into their future classrooms.
- Examine ethical boundaries and academic integrity, including how students make decisions about authorship, originality, and AI assistance in their work.
- Investigate culturally responsive AI use , exploring how students assess AI’s impact on diversity, equity, and culturally sustaining literacy practices.
Why Language and Literacy Education Is Different
Language and literacy classrooms are foundational spaces for fostering writing, critical thinking, and ethical reasoning. These areas are especially vulnerable and potentially enriched by the presence of AI. As such, pre-service literacy teachers must be prepared to thoughtfully guide student engagement with these tools, ensuring that AI serves equity rather than undermining it.
Our research aligns closely with the course objectives to explore how race, language, and power intersect in educational spaces. We aim to extend this critical lens into emerging technologies, focusing on how future educators can navigate AI with cultural responsiveness and ethical care.
What We’re Doing
To capture a well-rounded picture of how AI is shaping education in our community, we’re using a range of methods:
Ongoing Sharing & Community Dialogue
Throughout the year, we’ll publish short updates, case studies, and reflections, inviting feedback and conversation from the broader educational community.
Surveys & Interviews
We’ll begin and end the year with surveys for faculty, staff, and administrators to track changing attitudes and experiences. In-depth interviews and focus groups will help surface individual stories, questions, and concerns.
Reflection Journals
Participants will share brief reflections throughout the year—what’s working, what’s surprising, and where challenges arise.
Classroom Experiments
Some faculty will experiment with AI in teaching and assessment, documenting their experiences and gathering student feedback.
Student Perspectives
Students will share their own views and experiences, ensuring their voices remain central to our inquiry.
Policy & Ethics Workshops
We’ll host workshops on the ethical dimensions of AI and collaboratively develop draft guidelines for responsible use.
What This Means for Teacher Education
Our findings will offer empirical insight into how future educators interact with AI. Insights that are urgently needed by teacher preparation programs struggling to respond to technological change. By exploring students’ real-world experiences and ethical frameworks, we hope to support more informed curriculum development and policy-making.
Furthermore, this research may serve as a model for student-centered policy creation , including collaborative development of classroom AI guidelines that reflect both academic integrity and inclusive pedagogy.
What We Hope to Achieve
By the end of this project, we aim to:
- Map how perceptions and practices evolve over time
- Identify promising practices and persistent challenges
- Develop practical resources for the ethical, effective use of AI in education
- Contribute to broader conversations about the future of teaching and learning in the age of AI
Equity, Inclusion, and the Future of Literacy
As with all technological advancements, Generative AI holds promise as a “great equalizer,” but only if it’s implemented with intentionality and awareness of existing social inequities. Our research looks closely at how pre-service teachers engage with AI through the lenses of equity and cultural responsiveness, asking critical questions about who benefits, who is left behind, and how literacy can remain a liberating force in an AI-saturated world.
By investigating these dynamics, our study supports a broader vision of AI literacy that extends beyond the classroom. Helping shape a generation of educators equipped not only with technical fluency but also with the critical consciousness needed to use technology for the greater good.
Join the Conversation
This work is not just about technology, it’s about people, pedagogy, and possibility. We see this project as a collaborative journey, and we invite you to walk it with us.
We’ll be sharing updates throughout the year and hope you’ll engage, whether by offering your feedback, sharing your experiences, or joining one of our workshops or discussions.
Let’s explore the future of education together.