Reconstructing the Role of Pre-Service Teachers in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI), including generative AI, learning analytics, and intelligent tutoring systems, are reshaping educational environments and challenging traditional conceptions of teachers' professional roles. Rather than replacing teachers, AI redistributes instructional functions and intensifies the need for human judgment, ethical reasoning, and learning design expertise. This chapter examines how AI-driven changes transform teacher roles and explores their implications for pre-service teacher education. It conceptualizes teachers as learning experience designers who orchestrate human–AI collaboration, critically evaluate AI outputs, and design cognitively, socially, and emotionally supportive learning environments. Drawing on insights from educational technology, learning sciences, and teacher professional development, the chapter proposes key competency domains and discusses strategies for reforming teacher education to prepare future teachers for AI-enhanced classrooms.