ChatGPT served as an emotional support agent during practicum, offering a nonjudgmental, constantly available interlocutor¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · qualitative r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Six participants asked 18 questions addressing emotionally challenging topics over twelve weeks, of which 14 concerned difficulties with mentor teachers. → Saadet Korucu-Kış 2026 q2 i? Participants reported psychological safety, saying the tool's non-human, nonjudgmental nature let them ask questions they would hesitate to ask a mentor. → Saadet Korucu-Kış 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Saadet Korucu-Kış 2026¶

Saadet Korucu-Kış, Arif Bakla. (2026). Exploring pre-service EFL teachers’ perceptions, use cases and questioning practices of ChatGPT during practicum: a critical digital pedagogy perspective. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-026-09783-6

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Content analysis of interaction screenshots in the case study. The article reports that of these 18 emotionally laden questions, 14 concerned difficulties with mentor teachers, with others concerning classroom incidents, assessment challenges, lack of confidence, and inclusive practices (Fig. 1).

"Over the twelve-week period, six participants asked totally 18 questions addressing emotionally challenging topics."

Saadet Korucu-Kış 2026 (2)¶

Saadet Korucu-Kış, Arif Bakla. (2026). Exploring pre-service EFL teachers’ perceptions, use cases and questioning practices of ChatGPT during practicum: a critical digital pedagogy perspective. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-026-09783-6

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Participant quote from reflective essays and focus group interviews in the case study. Participants described psychological safety enabled by the tool's non-human nature, and ChatGPT's responses to emotional queries opened with empathetic framing before offering concrete strategies.

"Maybe you hesitate to ask questions to your mentor, but you can express yourself easily because you know that ChatGPT will not judge you"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Positive attitudes toward ChatGPT increased from before to during the practicum
• The AI's nonjudgmental conversational tone and adaptive prompting fostered risk-taking and productive struggle in a psychologically safe environment — related
• LLM coders replicate many human discursive moves but lack questioning, adaptive responsiveness, and emotional expressiveness — related
• Distance students prefer an institution-embedded assistant offering 24/7 immediate, context-specific feedback over generic content such as ChatGPT — related
• GenAI can foster psychologically safe team interaction while risking reduced human interaction over time — related