Impact of ChatGPT and prompt on pre-service teachers’ technology-enhanced learning design: a mixed method study

This study explores the effects of ChatGPT and prompt on pre-service teachers’ (PSTs’) technology-enhanced learning (TEL) design ability and learning experiences. Fifty-seven PSTs taking a course named Modern Educational Technology participated in this study, and were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions: (1) a combination of ChatGPT and prompt group; or (2) a ChatGPT-only group. A mixed method was used by rating the quality of PSTs’ TEL design artifacts, combing with the qualitative data from the semi-structure interview. The results indicated that compared with the ChatGPT-only group, the combination of ChatGPT and prompt significantly improved the quality of PSTs’ TEL design artifacts and reduced their extrinsic cognitive loads during the design process. Moreover, the interview results also illustrated that prompt could enhance the efficiency and quality of PSTs’ interactions with ChatGPT. However, PSTs also reported some problems when using prompt such as they exhibited high perceived risk. This study provides practical implications for the application of ChatGPT to pre-service teacher education: Instructors should design proper prompt in advance to help PST better interact with ChatGPT, and thereby improve their learning experience and performance.