Design of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education for Primary Schools: Arts-based Approach

Abstract

AI is the basic grammar in the 21st century that students are required to know in order to adapt to future needs.  Despite the fact that many children are digital natives who encounter AI technologies every day, the majority of them are still AI illiterates. Previous studies reveal that AI literacy education has mostly been executed at secondary and university levels, whereas the issue of what to learn, how to teach and assess AI education at the primary school level remains under-explored. Although recently, more researchers are beginning to teach primary students AI literacy, there is still a lack of evidence-based research that informs educators about the suitability of learning content of AI standardized curriculum, pedagogical strategies, and assessment methodologies that cater primary students’ needs. Very little has been known about the effectiveness of pedagogical strategies in relation to the learning outcomes of primary students. As a result, there is a need to expand on the existing work on AI in primary school contexts. This proposed study will adopt a mixed-research approach to examine how a project-based approach, with the use of a well-designed AI primary curriculum, may enhance AI literacy. In addition, it aims to shed light on assessment groundwork to evaluate the AI literacy in terms of affective, behavioural and cognitive learning outcomes in primary school settings.

AI is the basic grammar in the 21st century that students are required to know in order to adapt to future needs.  Despite the fact that many children are digital natives who encounter AI technologies every day, the majority of them are still AI illiterates. Previous studies reveal that AI literacy education has mostly been executed at secondary and university levels, whereas the issue of what to learn, how to teach and assess AI education at the primary school level remains under-explored. Although recently, more researchers are beginning to teach primary students AI literacy, there is still a lack of evidence-based research that informs educators about the suitability of learning content of AI standardized curriculum, pedagogical strategies, and assessment methodologies that cater primary students’ needs. Very little has been known about the effectiveness of pedagogical strategies in relation to the learning outcomes of primary students. As a result, there is a need to expand on the existing work on AI in primary school contexts. This proposed study will adopt a mixed-research approach to examine how a project-based approach, with the use of a well-designed AI primary curriculum, may enhance AI literacy. In addition, it aims to shed light on assessment groundwork to evaluate the AI literacy in terms of affective, behavioural and cognitive learning outcomes in primary school settings.