Artificial Intelligence as a Pedagogical Tool in Lesson Planning: Implications for Self-Confidence and Professional Development of Physical Education Student Teachers

Abstract

This study examines the role of artificial intelligence (AI) as a pedagogical support tool in lesson planning and its implications for self-confidence and professional development among physical education student teachers during their internship period. As lesson planning represents a critical component of effective teaching practice, student teachers often encounter challenges related to organization, decision-making, and instructional confidence. The growing integration of AI-based tools in teacher education offers new opportunities to address these challenges by providing structured guidance, personalized feedback, and data-driven support. Adopting a mixed-methods research design, the study combines quantitative data collected through a structured questionnaire administered to physical education student teachers with qualitative insights drawn from thematic analysis of participant responses. The quantitative findings indicate statistically significant positive relationships between AI-supported lesson planning and key dimensions of teacher self-confidence, including confidence in pedagogical decision-making, perceived teaching competence, and professional development. Qualitative results further reveal that AI tools contribute to improved lesson organization, reduced cognitive load, and enhanced reflective practice, while also highlighting challenges related to digital competence and ethical use. The findings suggest that AI functions not merely as a technical aid but as a pedagogical scaffold that supports professional identity formation and instructional effectiveness. However, the study also emphasizes the necessity of ethically informed and pedagogically aligned implementation to ensure that AI enhances, rather than replaces, professional judgment. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on AI in teacher education by providing empirical evidence on its potential to strengthen lesson planning quality, self-confidence, and professional development within physical education training contexts.