Digital and AI-Enabled Transformation of Preservice English Teacher Preparation and Assessment Guided by the Spirit of Educators
A well-written AI-assisted lesson plan tells teacher educators little about whether its author can teach it, adapt it, or defend its educational purpose. This gap matters for English teacher education in China, where digital reform is expected to advance the spirit of educators as well as professional competence. This conceptual paper examines how these expectations can enter the everyday work of preparation and assessment. It develops an account of three connected processes: interpreting educational values in instructional decisions, learning through tasks that require those decisions, and using evidence from practice to determine what should be attempted next. An illustrative reading unit on local culture shows how the account could connect language coursework, microteaching, and the school practicum. The proposed arrangements give particular attention to materials verification, responses to learner differences, and the distinction between assisted performance and independent competence. They also specify how mentors and preservice teachers might interpret portfolios without turning incomplete records into fixed judgments of ability. The paper proposes a design for local trials; it makes no claim that these arrangements have already improved preparation outcomes.
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