Designing effective AI professional development: A framework grounded in intelligent-TPACK

The increasing presence of artificial intelligence (AI) in education requires teachers to develop not only technological proficiency but also pedagogical and ethical fluency in AI use. Responding to this need, this study employs a Conceptual Framework Development model to develop the Intelligent-Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge-based Professional Development (i-TPACK-based PD) Framework, a research-informed, integrated model that aligns the five knowledge domains of i-TPACK (i.e., i-TK, i-TCK, i-TPK, i-TPACK, and AI Ethics) with four evidence-based AI PD pathways: active learning, use of models and examples, coaching and expert support, and feedback and reflection. Drawing from 40 systematic reviews and empirical studies, the framework interweaves these five i-TPACK domains and four AI PD pathways to create a cohesive structure that fosters teachers’ AI-specific pedagogical reasoning, technological fluency, content-based applications, and ethical decision-making. The paper provides a detailed mapping of i-TPACK domains to AI PD pathways, a sample scenario that illustrates the practical implementation across the phases of teacher learning, and design principles to support PD developers. Additionally, it outlines recommendations for research and practice while critically addressing limitations related to program duration, delivery format, outcome evaluation, and ethical integration. This model offers actionable guidance for designing, implementing, and evaluating AI PD that is pedagogically grounded, ethically responsive, and adaptable across educational contexts. • Introduces an AI PD framework aligning i-TPACK domains with teacher learning pathways • Integrates ethics as a distinct domain within AI-focused teacher professional learning • Maps AI-specific teacher knowledge to active learning, models, coaching, and reflection practices • Provides a scenario-based example demonstrating i-TPACK-based PD in action • Offers design and research guidelines for effective and ethical AI teacher PD