ChatGPT-Based Simulation Helps to Develop the Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers’ Critical Thinking

The development of IT affects society in general and the education sector in particular. The emergence of AI (in particular ChatGPT), which is constantly being improved, already causes specific problems in the organization and administration of the educational process. Still, the peculiarities of its functioning make it possible to perceive ChatGPT as learning means in the pre-service mathematics teachers’ training. The article presents the results of a study that answers the following questions: (1) "Can ChatGPT be a digital platform that generates pupils' answers (secondary school)? - Yes"; (2) "Are students (pre-service mathematics teachers) prepared to check answers that ChatGPT generates? - Yes"; (3) "Does checking answers that ChatGPT generates affect the development of students' critical thinking? - Yes". The study involved a pedagogical experiment in which authors described how ChatGPT generates solutions to math problems and what mistakes it makes. We ensured that students sometimes find mathematical mistakes in the answers generated by ChatGPT, but repeated use of ChatGPT shows its positive impact on the development of pre-service mathematics teachers’ critical thinking.