Algorithm appreciation or aversion? Comparing in-service and pre-service teachers’ acceptance of computerized expert models

Although computerized expert models (i.e., algorithms) could improve educational decisions and judgments, initial research has demonstrated that teachers, like other professional groups, tend to be “algorithm averse.” In the current study, we use behavioral and questionnaire data to examine the exte...

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Main Author: Esther Kaufmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-01-01
Series:Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666920X21000229
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author Esther Kaufmann
author_facet Esther Kaufmann
author_sort Esther Kaufmann
collection DOAJ
description Although computerized expert models (i.e., algorithms) could improve educational decisions and judgments, initial research has demonstrated that teachers, like other professional groups, tend to be “algorithm averse.” In the current study, we use behavioral and questionnaire data to examine the extent to which in-service and pre-service (i.e., students in training to become) teachers accept advice from expert models and investigate how teachers' acceptance of expert models could be improved. Although it is often presumed that younger generations are less algorithm averse, we demonstrate that both in-service and pre-service teachers prefer advice from a human source (school counselor) than from an expert model, to a similar extent. Furthermore, we find that advice acceptance depends on the difficulty of the decision task, but we find no evidence that pre-service teachers’ acceptance of computerized advice depends on their numeracy or the Big Five traits of openness and neuroticism. Finally, we find that in-service teachers lacked knowledge of computerized expert models but indicated that advice from expert models would be superior to human advice in certain kinds of tasks. Our results indicate that both in- and pre-service teachers could profit from training about the definition and value of computerized expert models, and we provide suggestions for training and future research.
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spelling doaj.art-f50eec660ff243ca96440ffe19cd0d3a2022-12-21T16:58:45ZengElsevierComputers and Education: Artificial Intelligence2666-920X2021-01-012100028Algorithm appreciation or aversion? Comparing in-service and pre-service teachers’ acceptance of computerized expert modelsEsther Kaufmann0Institute of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Fach 31, 78457, Konstanz, GermanyAlthough computerized expert models (i.e., algorithms) could improve educational decisions and judgments, initial research has demonstrated that teachers, like other professional groups, tend to be “algorithm averse.” In the current study, we use behavioral and questionnaire data to examine the extent to which in-service and pre-service (i.e., students in training to become) teachers accept advice from expert models and investigate how teachers' acceptance of expert models could be improved. Although it is often presumed that younger generations are less algorithm averse, we demonstrate that both in-service and pre-service teachers prefer advice from a human source (school counselor) than from an expert model, to a similar extent. Furthermore, we find that advice acceptance depends on the difficulty of the decision task, but we find no evidence that pre-service teachers’ acceptance of computerized advice depends on their numeracy or the Big Five traits of openness and neuroticism. Finally, we find that in-service teachers lacked knowledge of computerized expert models but indicated that advice from expert models would be superior to human advice in certain kinds of tasks. Our results indicate that both in- and pre-service teachers could profit from training about the definition and value of computerized expert models, and we provide suggestions for training and future research.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666920X21000229Artificial intelligenceDigitalizationAlgorithm acceptanceTeacher educationPre-service teachers
spellingShingle Esther Kaufmann
Algorithm appreciation or aversion? Comparing in-service and pre-service teachers’ acceptance of computerized expert models
Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Digitalization
Algorithm acceptance
Teacher education
Pre-service teachers
title Algorithm appreciation or aversion? Comparing in-service and pre-service teachers’ acceptance of computerized expert models
title_full Algorithm appreciation or aversion? Comparing in-service and pre-service teachers’ acceptance of computerized expert models
title_fullStr Algorithm appreciation or aversion? Comparing in-service and pre-service teachers’ acceptance of computerized expert models
title_full_unstemmed Algorithm appreciation or aversion? Comparing in-service and pre-service teachers’ acceptance of computerized expert models
title_short Algorithm appreciation or aversion? Comparing in-service and pre-service teachers’ acceptance of computerized expert models
title_sort algorithm appreciation or aversion comparing in service and pre service teachers acceptance of computerized expert models
topic Artificial intelligence
Digitalization
Algorithm acceptance
Teacher education
Pre-service teachers
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666920X21000229
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