Primary School Teachers' Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence and Their Opinions on Artificial Intelligence Applications in Life Science Courses

In this study, in which the perceptions of artificial intelligence of primary school teachers and the use of artificial intelligence in the life science course were examined, explanatory sequential design, one of the mixed research methods, was used. While 318 primary school teachers took part in the quantitative dimension of the study, 15 primary school teachers took part in the qualitative dimension. Artificial intelligence perception scale was used in the quantitative dimension of the study, and a semistructured interview form prepared by the researcher was used in the qualitative dimension. At the end of the study, it was determined that the perceptions of primary school teachers about artificial intelligence were generally positive, according to the graduation status variable, the teaching and learning perceptions of postgraduate teachers about artificial intelligence were higher, there was a significant difference in favor of women according to the gender variable, and in terms of seniority variable, the perceptions of teachers with 1-5 years of experience about artificial intelligence were higher. It has been revealed that primary school teachers can use artificial intelligence applications in all learning areas in the curriculum and that they use these applications mostly to create studentcentered and interactive learning environments. At the end of the research, postgraduate and in-service trainings on artificial intelligence were recommended for primary school teachers.