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The ubiquity of AI in society means the time is ripe to consider what educated 21st century digital citizens should know about this subject. In May 2018, the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) formed a joint working group to develop national guidelines for teaching AI to K-12 students. Inspired by CSTA's national standards for K-12 computing education, the AI for K-12 guidelines will define what students in each grade band should know about artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics. The AI for K-12 working group is also creating an online resource directory where teachers can find AI- related videos, demos, software, and activity descriptions they can incorporate into their lesson plans. This blue sky talk invites the AI research community to reflect on the big ideas in AI that every K-12 student should know, and how we should communicate with the public about advances in AI and their future impact on society. It is a call to action for more AI researchers to become AI educators, creating resources that help teachers and students understand our work.
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This content will become publicly available on March 17, 2027
AI Scholars Program: Scaling AI Literacy Through K-12 Outreach
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasinglyintegrated into daily life, there is a critical need fordeveloping AI literacy across all educational levels.However, current AI education remains largely confined tocollege-level computer science classrooms with limitedaccess for K-12 learners. We present the AI ScholarsProgram, a novel approach that addresses the AI educationgap by preparing college computing students to serve as AIeducation ambassadors in their communities and empoweringK-12 teachers to adopt AI education practices in theirclassrooms. This experience report presents the curriculumand its outcomes after one round of refinement. The programoffers structured AI learning through bi-weekly webinars,resources, and collaborative opportunities to form teamsand conduct community outreach projects. Our programinvited 63 scholars from 30 institutions across the U.S.,including 51 college students and 12 K-12 teachers. Theiroutreach impacted over 230 K-12 learners. We examineprogram outcomes for participants and projects throughpre/post surveys measuring computing attitudes andself-efficacy for teaching AI, scholar interviews, andoutreach project reports. We share lessons learned andchallenges for designing similar programs, highlighting theimportance of involving educators for effectivecommunity-engaged AI education. The program creates asustainable pipeline for college students to developtechnical skills and leadership while addressing K-12 AIeducation shortages. We contribute insights for scaling AIliteracy and broadening participation in computing.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2112635
- PAR ID:
- 10703350
- Publisher / Repository:
- AAAI
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence
- Volume:
- 40
- Issue:
- 47
- ISSN:
- 2159-5399
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 40704 to 40712
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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