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There are many initiatives that teach Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy to K-12 students. Most downsize college-level instructional materials to grade-level appropriate formats, overlooking students' unique perspectives in the design of curricula. To investigate the use of educational games as a vehicle for uncovering youth's understanding of AI instruction, we co-designed games with 39 Black, Hispanic, and Asian high school girls and non-binary youth to create engaging learning materials for their peers. We conducted qualitative analyses on the designed game artifacts, student discourse, and their feedback on the efficacy of learning activities. This study highlights the benefits of co-design and learning games to uncover students' understanding and ability to apply AI concepts in game-based learning, their emergent perspectives of AI, and the prior knowledge that informs their game design choices. Our research uncovers students' AI misconceptions and informs the design of educational games and grade-level appropriate AI instruction.
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This content will become publicly available on June 22, 2026
Energy Grid Card Game (Resource Exchange)
The Energy Grid Card Game was designed for pre-college students (grades 6-12) to be played in an informal learning environment. The game explores the technical, environmental, and economic choices and challenges of using energy resources throughout our daily lives. Undergraduates at Illinois State University designed the activity as part of the NSF-funded SUPERCHARGE project, which seeks to improve access to STEM college and career pathways while making connections to engineering and sustainability-related problems that can be addressed in their communities.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2148429
- PAR ID:
- 10598185
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Montreal, QC, Canada
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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