Conference: Workshop on AI and Undergraduate Natural Sciences Education

This project aims to serve the national interest by exploring the current and potential future roles for artificial intelligence (AI) in undergraduate natural sciences education. As AI rapidly reshapes workforce needs across the natural sciences, scientists working in these fields will need to use AI effectively and understand its capabilities, limitations, assumptions, and appropriate applications within disciplinary contexts. Undergraduate education will thus also need to evolve to incorporate AI into the classroom to support teaching and learning and prepare students for an AI-enabled future. The planned public workshop will address questions such as how AI is changing scientific research and professional practice, what implications those changes have for education, what knowledge and skills future scientists will need for this changed environment, and how undergraduate natural sciences education can change to support students gaining these competencies. This Conference project will result in a published document detailing the outcomes of the workshop as well as recordings and commissioned papers available on a public website. Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping research, professional practice, and workforce needs across the natural sciences. These developments raise fundamental questions for undergraduate education in the sciences. Students who plan to enter careers in biology, chemistry, physics, Earth and environmental sciences, and related disciplines are likely to encounter work environments where they are asked to employ AI-enabled tools. Future scientists will need not only to use AI effectively but also to understand its capabilities, limitations, assumptions, and appropriate applications within disciplinary contexts. They will need to evaluate AI-generated analyses critically, recognize potential sources of error and bias, and exercise scientific judgment when AI systems produce unexpected or misleading results. Yet, current approaches to undergraduate education are not designed to provide students with these competencies and skills. The public workshop will explore the current and potential future roles for AI in undergraduate natural science education with a focus on: 1) how AI will reshape the work of natural scientists and implications for natural science education; 2) how AI can be incorporated into undergraduate science courses and research experiences in order to support teaching and learning and prepare students for an AI-enabled future. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. 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.