Abstract
Collaborative reflective practice (CRP) and emotional intelligence (EI) are critical in fostering preservice teachers’ social, emotional, and reflective development by enabling the construction and reconstruction of their personal and professional knowledge, practices, and emotional states. This study investigated how artificial intelligence (AI)-supported collaborative reflection and EI might be integrated to potentially foster reflective, collaborative, and emotional practices among preservice English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers in the context of Iran. The research involved 10 Iranian preservice EFL teachers participating in an English language teaching course, incorporating ChatGPT to facilitate collaborative reflection and emotional growth. Findings from qualitative analyses revealed that ChatGPT-supported CRP showed potential in enhancing EFL teachers' EI development and facilitating reflective, social, and emotional learning. The teachers successfully transformed negative emotions into positive ones through AI-mediated collaborative reflection, improving their emotional regulation and well-being. Additionally, EI was found to reinforce CRP practices, as positive emotions such as satisfaction, enjoyment, self-efficacy, and emotional regulation supported deeper reflection and collaboration. The findings suggest that incorporating ChatGPT into CRP and EI frameworks can significantly improve the quality of teacher education by fostering reflective, collaborative, and emotionally intelligent teaching practices.
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