How Teacher-Practitioners Shape Generative AI Implementation in Educational Simulation Design: A Collective Autoethnography
Yeil Jeong, Yunseo Lee, Gyuri Byun, Jewoong MoonBackground
This study explores teacher-practitioners’ roles, strategies, and challenges in developing a Generative AI (GenAI)-enhanced educational simulation. Using collective autoethnography, this study focuses on iterative refinement processes that remain underexamined in research on educational uses of GenAI.
Methods
Grounded in Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, we analyzed the experiences of three South Korean teacher-practitioners who co-developed a simulation integrating ChatGPT in Roblox. Data included reflective journals, group discussions, development artifacts, communication records, and contribution tracking derived from these materials, which were analyzed through a triangulation matrix aligning eight development phases with five practitioner roles.
Results
Five practitioner roles were identified: Designer, Instructor, Programmer, Builder, and Manager. Across eight development phases, these roles shifted in response to technical, pedagogical, and ethical demands. This pattern reflected contextual expertise activation, in which practitioners redistributed existing expertise across roles during the design process.
Conclusion
The findings show how teacher-practitioners coordinated instructional and design decisions while developing a GenAI-enhanced educational simulation. They also suggest implications for professional development, especially in technical upskilling, reflective design, and collaborative role flexibility.