Metaphorical perceptions of classroom teachers about artificial intelligence

This research aims to reveal the metaphorical perceptions of classroom teachers towards artificial intelligence and to examine these perceptions in terms of individual variables such as gender, age, career stage and artificial intelligence usage status. 103 classroom teachers participated in the study, which was conducted with the phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods. Data were collected through the semi-structured metaphor form created with the expression "Artificial intelligence is like ... because ..." and analyzed through content analysis using the MAXQDA computer program. A total of 103 valid metaphors were produced by the participants and these metaphors were classified under five thematic headings as "Helping/Guiding", "Human-Identified", "Machine-Centered", "Suspicious and Curiosity-Arousing" and "Threatening". The findings showed that teachers evaluated artificial intelligence not only as a technical tool but also in terms of its pedagogical, cognitive, ethical and emotional aspects. According to the gender variable, female teachers developed more critical and ethically oriented approaches; It was observed that male teachers made more pragmatic and functional evaluations. It has been observed that variables such as age and career stage significantly affect thematic diversity in teachers perceptions of artificial intelligence. It was observed that teachers in the 31-45 age group produced more and thematically more diverse metaphors than other age groups. While young teachers emphasized threat and uncertainty more, those in the older age group evaluated AI more as a helping tool. In terms of career stage, it was observed that expert teachers produced more in-depth and multi-dimensional metaphors, especially focusing on positive themes. While participants with the title of teacher were represented more in threat and human-centered themes, the contribution of head teachers was limited and limited to the helping theme. While teachers who used AI approached technology from a more positive and multi-dimensional perspective, those who did not use it produced more cautious and threat-based metaphors. The research results reveal the multi-layered and contradictory structure of teachers' perceptions of AI; they emphasize the transformative effect of technological experience on these perceptions. In this context, suggestions such as practical training, ethically based content and the development of guidance models to increase teachers' awareness of AI were presented. Keywords: Artificial intelligence, metaphorical perception, metaphorical perceptions of classroom teachers