Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) is rapidly reshaping education, challenging teacher‐education programs to move beyond technical training toward the cultivation of criticality. This sequential explanatory mixed-methods study examined how structured engagement with GAI can foster critical being —the integration of critical thinking, self-reflection, and action—among Iranian pre-service English teachers. Sixty third-year students at Farhangian University were assigned to either an intervention group (n = 30) that completed an eight-week GAI-based module or a control group (n = 30) following the standard curriculum. Quantitative results from the Cornell Critical Thinking Test (Level Z) revealed significant gains in critical thinking (F(1,58) = 20.17, p < .001, partial η² = .26) and a marked reduction in AI anxiety (t(29) = 7.85, p < .001, d = 1.43) for the intervention group. Qualitative analysis of interviews, reflective journals, and AI-integrated lesson plans highlighted four interrelated processes: (1) a metacognitive shift from passive user to critical interrogator, (2) dialogic prompting as a form of critical dialogue, (3) heightened epistemic vigilance toward bias, and (4) pedagogical transformation into designers of critical AI-based curricula. Integrating these findings, the study proposes a Critical Integrative Pedagogy for AI (CIP-AI) framework, demonstrating that carefully scaffolded GAI activities can empower future teachers to use AI as a catalyst for human criticality rather than a substitute for it.
Mehran Memari (2025) studied this question.