PERCEIVED INFLUENCE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON COMPUTATIONAL SKILLS AND MATHEMATICAL REASONING AMONG PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS IN NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined perceived influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on computational skills and independent reasoning among pre-service teachers in College of Education, Akwanga, Nasarawa State. Five research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey design was adopted. Population was 125 NCE mathematics pre-service teachers, sample was 100 (62 males, 38 females) selected by simple random sampling. Instrument was Artificial Intelligence on Computational Skills and Mathematical Reasoning among Pre-Service Teachers (AI-CSMRPT) with reliability of 0.82 Cronbach Alpha. Mean and SD answered research questions, one-way ANOVA and one-sample t-test tested hypotheses at 0.05. Findings revealed AI significantly influences computational skills (Grand M=3.09) by improving speed (M=3.24) and accuracy (M=3.18). Both male (M=3.18) and female (M=2.95) agreed, but significant gender difference existed (F=4.67 > 3.94). AI also influences independent reasoning (Grand M=2.90), with reliance on AI before attempting problems (M=3.16) highest. Both genders agreed (M=2.98 male, M=2.77 female) with significant difference (F=4.12 > 3.94). No significant difference between influence on computational skills (M=3.09) and independent reasoning (M=2.90), p=0.47. Study concluded AI enhances computation but creates alternative cognition that reduces independent effort if unguided. Responsible and ethical use of AI as supplement, gender-sensitive training, and institutional guidelines were recommended.