The Future of Material Design: Perspectives of Future Special Educators on AI Tools

Abstract

This study aims to examine special education teacher candidates' views on material production processes using artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Employing a case study design within the qualitative research paradigm, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 teacher candidates enrolled in a special education undergraduate program. Participants were selected through purposive sampling, and the data were analyzed using content analysis. Findings revealed that teacher candidates predominantly used AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Canva, NotebookLM) for educational purposes. Participants identified several benefits of AI-assisted material production for teachers, including guidance provision, workload reduction, and time efficiency. For students, benefits included individualization of instruction, acceleration of the learning process, and enhanced knowledge retention. Regarding ethical concerns, a significant portion of participants highlighted privacy violation risks, while others stated that AI-assisted material production would not pose ethical issues. The majority of teacher candidates expressed a need for foundational training in AI tool usage, with some specifically requesting training on special education-specific material production and effective prompt writing. The results underscore the need to strengthen AI literacy and technology integration in special education teacher preparation programs. Implications for curriculum development, pre-service teacher education, and ethical AI use in special education contexts are discussed.