Dialoguing with the Algorithm: An Autoethnographic Study of Midlife Voice, Uncertainty, and Teacher Identity in a ChatGPT Exchange

Dialoguing with the Algorithm: An Autoethnographic Study of Midlife Voice, Uncertainty, and Teacher Identity in a ChatGPT Exchange

Abstract: This autoethnographic study examines how teacher identity is negotiated and reconstituted through AI-mediated dialogue, focusing on the experiences of an aging, foreign educator in the Korean EFL context. Through analysis of a single extended ChatGPT exchange initiated during ESP syllabus redesign, the study reveals five critical moments where professional identity was performed, contested, and remade: prompting as identity performance, encountering algorithmic voice, resistance and revoicing, epistemic dissonance and becoming, and dialogic pedagogy and the emergent self.

Drawing on theories of aging and teacher identity (Day & Kington, 2008; Hargreaves, 2005), dialogic voice (Bakhtin, 2010; Barad, 2007), and critical perspectives on digital labor (Standing, 2011; Oliveira et al., 2023), the research positions AI not as a neutral tool but as a discursive partner that actively participates in identity construction. The findings demonstrate that AI encounters function as sites of intensified reflection where professional voice must be reclaimed, pedagogical care recontextualized, and educational authority both challenged and reasserted through what the study identifies as "conscious cultural mediation"—explicit bridge-building work between Korean and Western educational values.

Rather than simply threatening or enhancing teacher agency, AI tools create new spaces for dialogic identity work, particularly for educators navigating intersections of aging, precarity, and technological change. The study contributes to autoethnographic methodology by demonstrating how AI platforms function as cultural sites requiring ethnographic attention, while revealing the "epistemic labor" of AI collaboration—the skilled professional work of evaluating, contextualizing, and adapting algorithmically-generated suggestions according to situated cultural knowledge and ethical commitments.

The research challenges binary framings of AI as either salvation or threat, instead revealing the complex identity negotiations that emerge when experienced educators engage AI as both reflective mirror and provocateur in their ongoing professional becoming. For teacher education, this implies moving beyond technical AI training toward developing critical digital literacy that encompasses reflexive practice, cultural humility, and the maintenance of pedagogical sovereignty within collaborative human-AI relationships.

Keywords: Autoethnography; Teacher Identity; Artificial Intelligence; Aging Educators; Dialogic Pedagogy; Cultural Mediation; Digital Labor

Bio: Maria Lisak EdD (How to cite) With over 30 years of EFL experience, Maria Lisak, EdD is a Full-time Professor in the Department of Administration Welfare at Chosun University, where she teaches social entrepreneurship in English using experiential learning and sociocultural approaches. Her work integrates constructivist and emancipatory frameworks, with research focusing on funds of knowledge, Gwangju as Method, and social justice education. She also designs educational materials for diverse ESP contexts, linking classroom practice with community needs. Her current interests include literacy, culture, and language education, and participatory frameworks for teacher wellbeing. She is the current President of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of KOTESOL, and a lifetime member of KOTESOL and AsiaTEFL. Her interdisciplinary work invites reflection on multimodal pedagogies, material making, and context-driven innovation in borderland spaces.

Introduction

Framework

Aging and Identity Work in Transnational English Teaching

  • Aging, Teacher Identity, and Emotional Labor
  • Aging in TESOL/EFL: Language, Identity, and Global Mobility
  • Bridge to Analytical Framework

Voice, Reflexivity, and Dialogic Becoming

  • Bakhtinian Dialogism and Voice
  • Performativity and Identity Constitution
  • Intra-activity and Material-Discursive Practices
  • Collaborative Authorship and Voice Ownership
  • Critical AI Studies and Voice
  • Marginality and Resistance
  • Dialogic Pedagogy and Emergent Selfhood
  • Synthesis: Identity as Ongoing Achievement

AI-Mediated Labor and Liminal Pedagogy

  • Labor, Reputation & Precarity
  • The Seduction and Suspicion of Efficiency
  • Design Work as Vulnerable Labor
  • The Temporal Politics of AI Adoption
  • Agency, Automation, and Professional Identity
  • Synthesis: Reframing AI as Labor Condition

Framework Synthesis: AI Encounters as Sites of Embodied Identity Work

Methods

Autoethnography

  • Overview of Approach
  • Autoethnographic Orientation
  • Ethical Considerations

Researcher Positionality: Navigating Cultural and Institutional Contexts

  • The Korean EFL Educational Landscape
  • My Positioning Within These Dynamics
  • Institutional Precarity and Cultural Positioning
  • Ethical Considerations of Cultural Representation

Data Collection & Analysis

  • Data Sources
  • Analytical Procedures
    • Critical Incident Analysis
    • Analysis of AI Response Patterns
    • Theoretical Anchoring
  • Synthesis

    Findings & Analysis

    A. Prompting as Identity Performance

    • Data Context and Selection Rationale
    • Excerpt & Interpretation
    • Analysis of AI Response Pattern
    • Theoretical Anchor: Performativity and Dialogic Identity

    B. Encountering Algorithmic Voice

    Data Context and Selection Rationale

    Excerpt & Interpretation

    Analysis of Voice Characteristics

    • Structural sophistication: Responses were invariably well-organized with clear hierarchies, parallel formatting, and logical progression
    • Comprehensive coverage: The AI attempted to address multiple dimensions of complex pedagogical questions simultaneously
    • Confident assertion: Suggestions were presented without hedging language or acknowledgment of cultural/contextual limitations
    • Universal applicability: Recommendations assumed transferability across cultural and institutional contexts
    • Efficiency orientation: Solutions were presented as streamlined and implementable without extended reflection or adaptation

    Theoretical Anchor: Dialogic Voice Theory and Algorithmic Discourse

    C. Resistance and Revoicing

    Data Context and Selection Rationale

    Excerpt & Interpretation

    • Cultural explanation: Explicitly naming Korean cultural values (face, harmony) that shape classroom interaction
    • Pedagogical reframing: Shifting from "peer review" to "collaborative problem-solving" to change the activity's cultural resonance
    • Structural adaptation: Modifying the process to begin with strength identification rather than criticism
    • Authority positioning: Placing myself as facilitator to manage cultural dynamics and ensure appropriate tone

    Analysis of Resistance Patterns

    • Cultural correction: Modifying suggestions that assumed Western classroom norms
    • Temporal adjustment: Slowing down AI suggestions that assumed rapid implementation without relationship-building
    • Ethical screening: Filtering out approaches that might compromise my commitments to student dignity and cultural respect
    • Contextual grounding: Adding institutional and student-specific details that the AI couldn't access
    • Voice reclamation: Asserting my interpretive authority over final pedagogical decisions

    Theoretical Anchor: Collaborative Authorship and Agential Realism

    D. Epistemic Dissonance and Becoming

    Data Context and Selection Rationale

    Excerpt & Interpretation

    • Cultural knowledge vs. pedagogical theory: My experiential understanding of Korean classroom dynamics conflicting with established Western pedagogical frameworks
    • Universalist vs. contextualist assumptions: The AI's assumption that certain pedagogical approaches are universally effective vs. my knowledge of cultural specificity
    • Professional preparation vs. cultural appropriateness: Tension between preparing students for globalized professional contexts and respecting local cultural values
    • Individual vs. collective learning orientations: Western emphasis on individual critical thinking vs. Korean emphasis on collective harmony and consensus-building

    Analysis of Epistemic Disruption

    Theoretical Anchor: Liminality, Transformative Learning, and Epistemic Justice

    E. Dialogic Pedagogy and the Emergent Self

    Data Context and Selection Rationale

    Excerpt & Interpretation

    • Articulated pedagogical philosophy: For the first time in the exchange, I offered a comprehensive statement of my teaching approach that integrated cultural positioning, student needs, and professional values
    • Metaphorical framing: The concept of "cultural bridge spaces" provided new language for understanding work I had been doing intuitively for years
    • Synthesis rather than compromise: Reframing cultural adaptation not as diluting pedagogical effectiveness but as creating more sophisticated approaches
    • Identity claiming: Asserting a specific professional identity that embraced rather than apologized for cultural mediation work

    Analysis of Dialogic Emergence

    • Articulation of tacit knowledge: Making explicit the cultural and pedagogical knowledge I had developed through years of practice but never systematically examined
    • Pattern recognition: Identifying consistent themes and approaches across different teaching contexts and decisions
    • Value clarification: Becoming more conscious of the ethical and cultural commitments that guide my pedagogical choices
    • Identity integration: Developing more coherent understanding of how different aspects of my professional identity (cultural mediator, experienced educator, critical pedagogue) work together
    • Future visioning: Beginning to imagine how this emergent identity might guide future professional development and teaching practice

    Theoretical Anchor: Dialogic Becoming and Intra-Active Pedagogy

    Synthesis of Emergent Identity Work

    • Performative positioning: Strategically presenting professional selfhood while remaining open to reconfiguration
    • Voice negotiation: Engaging with algorithmic discourse while maintaining cultural and ethical authority
    • Resistant appropriation: Selectively using AI suggestions while transforming them according to situated knowledge
    • Epistemic reflexivity: Using moments of dissonance to examine assumptions and develop more sophisticated understanding
    • Dialogic articulation: Developing explicit language for pedagogical approaches that had previously remained tacit
    Conclusion: Dialogic Identity Work Across Registers

    Discussion

    Implications for Teacher Education and AI-Mediated Praxis

    • Dialogic Identity Work in Digital Spaces
    • The Labor of Ethical Judgment
    • Precarity, Aging, and Professional Relevance

    Theoretical Contributions

    Extending Autoethnographic Method

    • ChatGPT as Ethnographic Site: Digital Place and Cultural Practice
    • ChatGPT as Cultural Space
    • Temporal Culture
    • Discourse Norms
    • Authority Structures
    • Interaction Rituals
    • The Digital Classroom as Hybrid Space
    • Digital Labor as Cultural Practice

    Methodological Implications

    • Reconceptualizing AI as Discursive Partner

    Limitations and Future Research

    • Paradigmatic Limitations
    • Future Research: Centering Aging and Intersectional Experience

    Conclusion

    Theoretical Contributions and Findings

    Implications for Practice and Policy

    Methodological Innovation and Future Directions

    The Continuing Conversation

    References

    For more of my papers, go here. 

    Comments

    Post a Comment

    Popular posts from this blog

    Portfolio for Maria Lisak, EdD

    Welcome Maria H. Lisak, EdD's Portfolio -  Rooted in teaching, shaped by design, and guided by culture, my work bridges disciplines and invites deep connection. I design for transformation through authenticity, risk-taking, and reflection. I build frameworks that thrive in uncertainty and evolve with context. I create space for quiet thinkers, bold collaborators, and reluctant risk-takers to grow together. I cultivate learner ownership through guided freedom, shared goals, and mutual accountability. I bring structure and soul to suboptimal environments, using design as advocacy. I nurture learning as a meditative, collaborative, and cathartic adventure. I honor lived knowledge, emergent insight, and systems thinking as cornerstones of meaningful education. In my early years teaching English for Specific Purposes in South Korea, I walked into a classroom with no Wi-Fi, outdated textbooks, and learners who had been told they weren’t “language people.” Rather than accept the constrain...
    Read more

    Week 1: Thresholds + Intuition

    Image
    Week 1: Thresholds + Intuition Introduction This first week begins at the doorway — the space between what has been and what is coming. We enter not by force or intention, but by noticing. Thresholds are tender crossings: a pause, a flicker of light, the tremor before movement. You are invited to begin by lighting a candle and softening your gaze. Let your senses lead you — the scent of wax, the warmth of flame, the rhythm of your own breath. This week, we honor the wisdom that lives beneath words. Intuition is not a message to decode but a quiet current to lean toward. Each practice — candle gazing, body scanning, scent journaling — returns you to your inner compass. The affirmation, “I honor where I’ve been. I open to where I’m going,” anchors your awareness in both gratitude and possibility. Let this be a week of listening below the surface, of trusting what stirs gently in the half-light. Week 1 Practices  Candle Meditation Candle Video   Candle Gazing Worksheet Body scan...
    Read more

    Gaps and Opportunities in the South Korean Digital Content Creation Landscape

    Gaps and Opportunities in the South Korean Digital Content Creation Landscape As the digital content creation industry in South Korea continues to expand—with the market projected to reach $2.69 billion by 2030 and growing at 15.9% annually—both the saturation of popular niches and the surging global demand for Korean cultural content create unprecedented opportunities for educators, students, and content creators alike. While many established South Korean content creators focus on language learning, travel, beauty, and lifestyle, significant gaps remain that present valuable opportunities for educational innovation and cultural bridge-building. This analysis explores seven notable gaps in the current South Korean digital content landscape, identifying areas where educators can develop innovative curricula, students can pursue meaningful research projects, and content creators can contribute to cross-cultural understanding. From interactive language learning that integrates cultural co...
    Read more