As our project, AI Exhibits, enters the second half of its implementation period, we are preparing to develop a new set of exhibitions alongside a series of workshops to prepare educators for teaching AI in their classrooms, connecting AI themes with school curricula in our partner countries. In this article, we briefly explore teachers’ perceptions and needs regarding AI literacy.
UNESCO’s AI competency framework for teachers suggests that AI will soon be able to respond to significant educational challenges such as teaching innovation and personalized learning. The European Commission acknowledges that AI is currently making educational settings more responsive while providing valuable insights in student development. However, both organizations emphasize the importance of equipping teachers with knowledge about good practices, potential risks, and dangers, as well as an understanding of how AI operates, as we move toward greater integration of AI in education.
Teachers’ competencies and perceptions
At this point, limited research has been conducted regarding teachers’ knowledge and understanding of AI concepts such as Neural Networks and Reinforcement Learning. Currently, the literature suggests that teachers’ AI knowledge is generally gained through incidental learning and is widely affected by their beliefs and views (Velander et al., 2024). According to a survey by Education Week (2023) 45% of teachers feel uncomfortable with AI technology in their classroom. When asked about the content of AI-related professional development they would benefit from, 62% responded that they would like to learn how to teach their students about responsible and effective use of AI tools in academic settings, and 57% mentioned that they would like to learn the basics about how AI works. Similarly, a study that explored teachers’ AI competencies in South Korea revealed that teachers have low confidence in their content knowledge and technological knowledge for implementing AI education and often encounter challenges due to the absence of a detailed roadmap for AI education (Kim & Kwon, 2023). According to UNESCO, by 2022 only seven countries had introduced AI programmes for teachers.
The role of AI Exhibits
The central objective of AI Exhibits is to use non-formal science museum methodologies to create the AI-literate generation of tomorrow based on inclusive practices. These methodologies encourage students to make observations and ask questions and, therefore, place them in the centre of their learning experiences (Schultz, 2018). Of course, the efficient integration of these methods in teaching requires educators’ active participation and hence our project aims to address the lack of tailored support for educators’ AI literacy through a series of workshops.
Effective and sustainable teaching practices require teachers’ involvement in their development (Chiu et al., 2022). The AI Exhibits workshops will be developed after a series of research activities regarding opportunities for the integration of AI literacy in the participating countries’ curricula as well as consultations with teachers to explore their knowledge and needs in the field of AI education.
Professional development opportunities that combine collaborative work with problem-based learning can result in better understanding of AI topics as well as more positive attitudes of teachers (Ding et al., 2024) and thus the AI Exhibits workshops will include problem-based activities and encourage co-creation, allowing teachers to collaborate with each other and with AI professionals and museum experts , through an exploration of the fundamentals of AI, current research and advancements, and ethical concerns. The workshops will be accompanied by an E-guide that will become available on the project’s website and will support educators’ self-learning and practice.
Bibliography
Chiu, T. K. F., Meng, H., Chai, C. S., King, I., Wong, S., & Yam, Y. (2022). Creation and Evaluation of a Pretertiary Artificial Intelligence (AI) Curriculum. IEEE Transactions on Education, 65(1), 30–39. https://doi.org/10.1109/TE.2021.3085878
Ding, A.-C. E., Shi, L., Yang, H., & Choi, I. (2024). Enhancing teacher AI literacy and integration through different types of cases in teacher professional development. Computers and Education Open, 6, 100178. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CAEO.2024.100178
Kim, K., & Kwon, K. (2023). Exploring the AI competencies of elementary school teachers in South Korea. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 4, 100137. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CAEAI.2023.100137
Schultz, L. (2018). Object-based learning, or learning from objects in the anthropology museum. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 40(4), 282–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2018.1532748
Velander, J., Taiye, M. A., Otero, N., & Milrad, M. (2024). Artificial Intelligence in K-12 Education: eliciting and reflecting on Swedish teachers’ understanding of AI and its implications for teaching & learning. Education and Information Technologies, 29(4), 4085–4105. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10639-023-11990-4/TABLES/7