From Experimentation to Integration: How Professional Learning Groups Supported Independent School Teachers’ Use of Generative AI

This article investigates how secondary teachers in two Australian independent schools engaged with generative AI (GenAI) tools to support teaching and learning. Using a qualitative case study methodology and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a sensitising framework, the study examines teachers’ perceptions of usefulness, ease of use, and the challenges they encountered. Over three months, teachers participated in professional learning groups supported by university-led workshops and peer collaboration. The findings show that teachers’ adoption of GenAI was not simply determined by tool availability or perceived efficiency. Rather, teachers’ perceptions of usefulness and ease of use developed through cycles of experimentation, prompt refinement, peer sharing, and ethical reflection. The study contributes a contextually grounded interpretation of TAM by showing how collaborative professional learning shaped teachers’ movement from initial experimentation towards more purposeful pedagogical integration. The findings suggest the value of considering how perceptions of usefulness and ease of use may develop over time through sustained engagement with GenAI.