AI Chatbots in STEM Education

This study examined the effectiveness of a 16-hour professional development program designed to support middle school teachers in using artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics instruction. The program was grounded in the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework and combined AI literacy with a five-component prompt structure. An embedded mixed-methods design was used, with quantitative survey data as the primary component and open-ended responses used to support interpretation. The study involved 50 in-service middle school teachers. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests showed statistically significant increases in teachers' perceptions of the usability and credibility of AI chatbots after the professional development program. Descriptive results also indicated strong intention among teachers to use these tools in future teaching. Qualitative findings showed that teachers planned to apply AI chatbots for lesson planning, designing hands-on activities, and developing interdisciplinary projects in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.