Lessons Learned for AI Education with Elementary Students and Teachers

Authors

• Anne Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Indiana University - BloomingtonFollow
• Krista Glazewski, Indiana University - Bloomington
• Minji Jeon, Indiana University - BloomingtonFollow
• Katie Jantaraweragul, Indiana University - Bloomington
• Cindy E. Hmelo-Silver, Indiana University - BloomingtonFollow
• Adam Scribner, Indiana University - BloomingtonFollow
• Seung Lee, North Carolina State UniversityFollow
• Bradford Mott, North Carolina State UniversityFollow
• James Lester, North Carolina State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2023

DOI Link

10.1007/s40593-022-00304-3

Citation

Artificial Intelligence in Education (2023) 33: 267-289

doi: 10.1007/s40593-022-00304-3

Comments

Open access

License: CC BY-NC-ND International 4.0

Abstract

With accelerating advances in artificial intelligence, it is clear that introducing K-12 students to AI is essential for preparation to interact with and potentially develop AI technologies. To succeed as the workers, creators, and innovators of the future, we argue students should encounter core concepts of AI as early as elementary school. However, building a curriculum that introduces AI content to K-12 students presents significant challenges, such as connecting to prior knowledge, developing curricula that are meaningful for students, and creating content that teachers feel confident to teach. To lay the groundwork for elementary AI education, we investigated the everyday experiences and ideas of students in grades 4 and 5 (ages 9 to 11) about AI to inform possible entry points for learning. This yielded themes around student conceptions, examples, and ethics of AI. For each theme, we juxtapose the student ideas with the teachers’ reflections on those ideas as frames of reference to consider in co-designing curricular approaches.