Teaching Teachers in the Age of AI: A Faculty Reflection on Lesson Planning

Abstract

In this narrative, the author reflects on the tensions and opportunities that artificial intelligence (AI) introduces to teacher education, with particular attention to lesson planning. Concerned that AI tools like ChatGPT might undermine the development of the deliberate thinking required of effective teachers, the author collaborated with colleagues to adapt their approach to teaching lesson planning to include structured AI-supported critique. The resulting instructional framework integrates AI feedback as one of several reflective checkpoints in a gradual release of responsibility process. Ultimately, this essay argues that, when used intentionally in teaching lesson planning, AI can support preservice teachers' in learning to think like a teacher.