Integrating artificial intelligence into preservice teacher education: enhancing AI literacy and digital material design competency

The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed educational tools and practices. Integrating AI into instruction supports complex thinking, enriches teaching, and helps educators in material creation and visualization. Therefore, it is essential to equip both students and educators with AI literacy and digital material design competencies in order to support pedagogically sound and ethically responsible instructional practices. Within this context, the present study examines the extent to which an AI-integrated instructional technology course influences pre-service teachers’ AI literacy and digital material design competencies, as well as their perceptions and experiences of learning within an AI-integrated instructional environment. Using a mixed-methods approach, 50 pre-service social studies teachers (41 female, 9 male) participated in a semester-long course. Data were collected through the Artificial Intelligence Literacy Scale, Digital Material Design Competency Scale, and semi-structured interviews. Paired sample t-tests indicated significant gains in both AI literacy and digital material design competencies, with large effect sizes. Qualitative and quantitative findings showed that AI tools not only improved technical abilities but also enhanced pedagogical thinking. The study highlights the importance of AI-integrated curricula in preparing future teachers for modern educational challenges.