Maria Navío-Inglés

Young learners' lack of motivation to study scientific‐related subjects nowadays is a topic of concern in our society. This study followed a quasi‐experimental design with a predominantly quantitative methods approach, complemented by qualitative data, to investigate how the combination of gamified and problem‐based learning could influence students' scientific knowledge and motivation. During this research, one group of pupils received a web‐based gamified problem‐based learning approach, which was new to them in their regular classroom practice (experimental group), while another group followed a more traditional educational approach (control group). The study was conducted on 6th‐grade students, and over 14 sessions, pupils from the experimental group were involved in a playful, active learning context in which they had to solve different challenges to win a game and escape from inside a human body. The advantages of the proposed approach are discussed in comparison with the control group. The findings revealed that the innovative methodology improved the students' academic and motivational levels in science. Additionally, pupils had positive opinions concerning this active educative approach, with a preference for learning through a website based on gamification and problem‐based learning. This study provides insights into the potential of active learning environments to enhance not only students' interest but scientific knowledge too.

Providing effective feedback on writing remains a challenge for teachers. Among the tools and strategies being explored to address this issue is generative artificial intelligence (AI), due to its potential to deliver immediate and tailored feedback that complements teacher input. However, successful implementation requires understanding the views of those likely to integrate such tools into their future teaching practice. This quasi-experimental study explores pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the inclusion of generative AI-generated feedback. A control group received teacher feedback on their writing, while an experimental group received a combination of teacher and AI-generated feedback. After the intervention, participants’ views on the feedback received and their preparedness for assessing writing were analyzed. Results reveal more positive perceptions among the experimental group, along with greater confidence in their ability to teach and assess writing. Although both groups acknowledged the need to improve their own linguistic knowledge and assessment strategies, and emphasized the importance of teacher-led feedback, participants in the experimental group also advocated for including AI tools. This highlights the need to strengthen linguistic knowledge and assessment training in teacher education, as well as the positive attitudes and openness towards generative AI among those who have experienced its potential in feedback provision.

Artificial intelligence (AI), specifically conversational AI, is increasingly utilized to enhance writing skills, necessitating future teachers’ awareness of its capabilities for implementation. The present mixed-methods study explores the ability of AI to write a summary and an argumentative text and pre-service teachers’ perceptions of it. A total of 154 pre-service teachers evaluated two texts generated by ChatGPT and two written by another student previously anonymized. The results show that they rated the AI-generated texts significantly higher overall and regarding linguistic parameters like text structure. Additionally, they generally consider that the human-written text conveys more emotions, while the AI text would deserve a better grade in an exam. However, many participants struggled to correctly identify the author of each text, which highlights the need to prepare them for the possibilities of current AI to take advantage of it.

In the post-truth era, where fake news abounds, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly conversational AI, are producing tools capable of generating increasingly human-like text. This mixed-methods study explores future teachers' perceptions about the ability of conversational AI to write argumentative texts. To this aim, a group of 87 pre-service teachers compared two anonymised texts: an AI-generated one and a text written by a fellow student. Results indicate that most participants believed the AI-generated text would outperform the human-written one in an exam, though opinions were divided on which text conveyed more emotions. Participants generally associated better writing and information richness with AI, while they linked subjectivity and emotivity to the human author. However, not all correctly identified the author of each text, highlighting the need for further preparation of future teachers on current AI abilities and limitations.

Las nuevas tecnologías han traído consigo el desarrollo de nuevos recursos para la enseñanza. En la didáctica de la historia, los videojuegos se han convertido en una herramienta con gran potencial educativo que posibilita un aprendizaje que trasciende la memorización de datos para trabajar el pensamiento histórico. Sin embargo, la implementación de los videojuegos en el aula requiere que los docentes conozcan su uso y sus posibilidades metodológicas. Con el objetivo de conocer y comparar la visión y los conocimientos que los maestros en formación de dos universidades de Portugal y de España poseen acerca de este recurso, se ha realizado un estudio cuantitativo mediante una encuesta distribuida entre 112 estudiantes de la Universidad de Minho y de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha. El análisis de los datos revela que los futuros docentes de ambos países consideran que los videojuegos pueden contribuir al proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje en general y al de la historia, así como al desarrollo de habilidades esenciales como la resolución de problemas y el pensamiento crítico. Pese a ello, todavía carecen de la formación necesaria para introducirlos en el aula. Además, en los resultados se atisban, también, diferencias significativas entre los dos países que componen la muestra. Las opiniones difieren especialmente en las etapas en las que implementar el recurso, la concepción que tienen sobre los profesores que lo utilizan y qué habilidades ayudan a desarrollar los videojuegos.

In the digital age, the integration of technology in education is gaining attention. However, there is limited evidence of its use in promoting historical thinking. Students need to develop critical thinking skills to address post-truth and fake news, enabling them to question sources, evaluate biases, and consider credibility. With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), historical thinking becomes even more crucial, as chatbots appear capable of analysing, synthesizing, interpreting, and writing similarly to humans. This makes it more difficult to distinguish between human and AI-generated resources. This mixed study explores the potential of AI in developing an argumentative historical text compared to future teachers. After 103 preservice teachers were instructed in historical thinking, they assessed a text written by a human and an AI-written text without knowing their authors. The obtained results indicate that participants assessed the AI text better based on historical thinking skills. Conversely, when asked about the capability of AI to develop a similar text, they emphasized its impossibility due to the belief that AI is incapable of expressing personal opinions and reflecting. This highlights the importance of instructing them in the correct use and possibilities of AI for future historical teaching.