A group of researchers at North Carolina State University of Education hopes to take advantage of the natural connections that exist between artificial intelligence (AI) technology and subjects already taught in K-12 schools. student.
Funded by the National Science Foundation’s ITEST grant, the project “Integrating Language-Based AI Across High School Curricula to Create Diverse Pathways to AI-Rich Careers” Develop and research programs that focus and integrate. Incorporate artificial intelligence concepts and practices into existing high school curricula.
Assistant Professor Shiyan Jiang is the Principal Investigator of the project, and Associate Professor Christy Byrd and Assistant Professor Amato Nocera are co-Principal Investigators. The project was developed in collaboration with the Concord Consortium and Carnegie Mellon University, and the College of Education will receive her $385,921 out of her $1,202,820 overall grant.
“Integrating basic AI education into multiple courses is very important as it could revolutionize AI education and reach out to currently underrepresented and underserved students in the field. is important,” said Jiang. “The method we are developing requires that insights from different disciplines are essential to the development of AI, and that it places student learning in situations where the application of AI can create practice in new disciplines. included.”
In this project, the team develops and tests a 2-hour introductory model, three 5-hour modules, and a 60-hour professional development course for math, English arts (ELA), and history teachers. This work will enable participating educators to develop the necessary competencies to implement her AI module in the classroom.
Developed by Byrd, professional development experiences are structured to enable participating teachers to collaborate to explore the applications and implications of AI and enhance their ability to engage students in real-world AI discussions. . topic. Teachers are also provided with a collection of short, self-contained student learning activities to pilot in the classroom and given the opportunity to participate in structured events where they can share their experiences and best practices.
“AI is a tool. Many people find it scary, but its application can be scary, but it also has great potential in the classroom.” English, Mathematics, and Social Studies classes can now incorporate AI to delve deeper into the subject.Helping teachers navigate this brave new landscape of AI technology is our passion. It strikes us as one of the most important challenges of our time.”
To help educators integrate artificial intelligence into the classroom, Jiang and team will further develop curriculum modules designed for ELA-based StoryQ projects and tailor them to different disciplines. .
For example, in a history classroom module directed by Nocera, students interact with machine learning models trained using primary sources to understand how language structures reflect past human cultures. Teachers support students when In mathematics-focused modules, teachers teach students how to quantify and build mathematical models to understand real-world phenomena and make predictions.
In addition to giving students the opportunity to experience AI technology outside the computer science classroom, integrating AI into existing curricula provides a unique opportunity for educators to design lessons together, he said. Jiang said.
“By integrating AI learning opportunities into multiple courses, we are able to bring together teachers from different disciplines to design and work together to provide students with bite-sized yet coherent AI learning experiences.” In addition, students will benefit from learning about AI from different disciplines’ perspectives, resulting in a comprehensive understanding of the subject,” she said. “This is an important first step in building the infrastructure for schools to adopt the topic of AI at scale.”
The project will be piloted with 12 teachers in schools in California and Maryland. This teacher has her 900 in schools in California and Maryland serving commonly underrepresented or underserved student populations in the AI field, including black and Latino students. affect students.
Byrd will study how programs implemented through projects are related to student outcomes such as academic success, socio-political awareness, and cultural competence.
“AI is the future, and it is exciting that we are using AI to make computer science more inclusive and help students analyze inequalities in society. Instead of being afraid of these powerful tools, , we need to embrace them and use them for social change,” she said.
“There is considerable progress left in this area, especially when it comes to helping marginalized female students establish a sense of belonging and self-efficacy as they pursue AI education and careers,” Jiang said. added Mr. “It is very important for us educators and researchers to continue to advocate for diversity and equity in the AI field. We must continue to challenge the approach taken by
