BIOLOGY TEACHERS’ READINESS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS INTEGRATING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN CONVENTIONAL TEACHING

The fast-growing Artificial Intelligence has opened up the new possibilities for the improvement of the educational experience especially in the sciences. The successful integration of AI into traditional classrooms, to a great extent, depends on teachers’ readiness and attitudes toward its use. This quantitative study investigated the readiness and perceptions of biology teachers toward the use of artificial intelligence (AI) alongside traditional methods of teaching. This research employs a conceptual framework of AI readiness, concentrating on three essential aspects of teachers' preparedness: knowledge, skills, and attitude, as well as their correlations with various socio-demographic variables. A descriptive survey method was adopted and data were collected from 150 in-service Biology teachers (Botany & Zoology) of Uchch Madhyamik Vidyalaya of Darbhanga district of Bihar thru a standardized and pre-validated questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, independent samples t-tests and one-way ANOVA. Findings indicate that biology educators have a moderate level of knowledge and skills in using AI in the educational context and possess positive attitudes toward the use of AI in their teaching practices. There are large differences in teaching experience and availability of ICT resources for AI-readiness. These findings suggest that indeed occupational exposure and infrastructure assets are important. The results reveal a substantial difference between the positive attitudes of educators toward the use of AI and their actual preparedness for the integration of AI-enhanced instruction. Improved professional training of biology teachers, advances in ICT infrastructure and supportive policy frameworks will boost AI readiness. The results provide empirical evidence for the increasing discourse on the use of AI in education and discuss the implications for teacher education and training in terms of policy making.