Artificial intelligence functions in mathematics lesson planning: Perceived usefulness and limitations among Filipino preservice teachers

Lesson planning in Mathematics is complex and time-consuming for preservice teachers. Artificial intelligence (AI) offers promising support, warranting integration into teacher education. This study examined how 23 preservice mathematics teachers from a Philippine Teacher Education Institution used AI in lesson planning during an AI-assisted workshop. Thematic analysis of prompts and reflections identified two main AI functions: content generation and support tool. Artificial intelligence effectively produced curriculum-aligned objectives, student-centered tasks, and organized lesson formats, but outputs could be verbose, unrealistic, or inaccurate. As a support tool, AI-aided content organization showed weaknesses in formatting, clarity, and content retention. Participants addressed these through refined prompts and manual edits, highlighting AI's potential and limitations, and the need for training in prompt engineering and critical evaluation.