Assessing Sustainable Pedagogical Integration: Next-Generation Teacher Agency and AIVisual Tools

This study assessed sustainable pedagogical integration by examining next-generation teacher agency and awareness of AI-enhanced visual tools, specifically AI-generated PowerPoint presentations. An intact class of 95 first-year English Education students enrolled in LED 111: Introduction to Digital Literacy and Pedagogy at a public university in Southwest Nigeria participated in a three-week intervention. Students were introduced to AI-generated PowerPoint tools using platforms such as Microsoft Copilot. Pretest and posttest data were collected via Google Forms. Descriptive statistics summarized trends in awareness, confidence, and perceived sustainability, while the Wilcoxon signed-rank test assessed significant differences in pre- and posttest scores. Open-ended responses were thematically analyzed using NVivo 14. Findings revealed a marked increase in awareness and positive perception of AI-generated PowerPoint postintervention. Microsoft Copilot was the most frequently used tool. However, sustained use remained limited due to infrastructural challenges and a lack of ongoing institutional support. The triangulated results showed a shift from initial skepticism to advocacy, with students recommending broader curricular integration of AI tools. The study concludes that while brief exposure enhances awareness and short-term adoption, long-term sustainability requires curriculum reform and continuous capacity-building. It recommends embedding AI literacy into pre-service teacher education to foster scalable and sustainable digital pedagogy.