Collaborative Research: Building Capacity for Teacher and Student AI Fluency in Middle Schools in Texas and New York

This project is inspired by the challenges and opportunities that generative AI has created for K- 12 education. Students have unprecedented access to AI tools, which can streamline tasks but also shortcut authentic learning. Educators are eager to explore the potential for AI to enhance instruction and deepen student engagement. Beyond just using AI, understanding how AI works is recognized as a new form of computational thinking which is essential for everyone to learn. With guidance from the AI4K12 framework, teachers have a foundation for recognizing which ideas need to be introduced to their students, but there remains a gap in teacher preparedness to introduce these ideas effectively to all students and in authentic middle school contexts. This project will address these gaps by exploring how to embed the use of AI and understanding of AI into core middle school subjects, including science, language arts, and social studies. Results from the project will provide guidance that is applicable nationwide on effective ways to support teachers in effective use of AI and instruction on how AI works that they can bring to their students. Two school districts (one in Texas and one in New York) will work with researchers from three universities to carry out the project. University personnel will work directly with 60 teachers and academic technology specialists and instructional technology coaches across seven middle schools in the two partner districts over the two project years. This will include designing and piloting browser-based software tools and instructional materials that integrate AI concepts across the curriculum areas while developing professional learning communities among school leaders and teachers. The project will investigate three research questions: (1) What are the current understandings, policies, and practices of using and teaching AI literacy in the partner districts? (2) What are the key AI literacies every student should know in alignment with the district curricular goals? (3) How can understanding of AI be integrated into the existing curriculum to deepen learning? The student populations of the partner districts broadly represent the demographics of the United States as a whole, ensuring broad applicability of project findings to all Americans. The goal of the project is to build district capacity to provide all students with the opportunity to participate in AI and associated computational thinking education in their schools. This project is funded through the Computer Science for All: Research and RPPs program. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.