Tips on Building Student AI Literacy for Future Success

Building an AI literacy curriculum? Use this guide to teach all students how to engage ethically and responsibly with AI

Whether they know it or not, your students use AI every day. Biometrics such as fingerprint and face recognition technology use AI to give students access to their phones, laptops, and other devices. Algorithms in social media platforms analyze user data to learn which products and advertisements are most likely to generate engagement. Apps for ride-hailing, payments, photo editing, and more all leverage AI.

And then there are the host of AI tools students know about like generative AI programs that answer questions and provide relevant information, images, and videos.

Your students use AI, but they may not understand AI: how it’s built, how it’s trained, and how it’s applied.

It’s essential that schools and districts take the initiative to teach all students—not just those with an interest in computer science—how to engage ethically and responsibly with AI so they are informed users of their digital landscape.

“Fast forward 20 to 30 years from now—the biggest determinant of whether somebody has had a pathway to prosperity or opportunity will be tied to whether they were given the opportunity to build AI readiness, whether their school had been thinking proactively about that,” says Alex Kotran, CEO and co-founder of the AI Education Project, in an interview with EdWeek Market Brief. He goes on to explain that AI literacy does not simply mean knowing how to use the AI tools we have today; rather, “the literacy that people need to have is a broader, more foundational understanding of AI and how it [works] as tools or systems that use data to make predictions. What are the things that I need to be aware of or considering when I evaluate the tools that I might want to use?”

Simply put, ensuring student success tomorrow means building AI literacy today.

What is AI Literacy in K-12 Education?

Achieving AI literacy requires a foundational understanding of digital literacy. Digital literacy empowers individuals to confidently and efficiently navigate the digital tools and platforms that are essential to many of our daily functions, such as communication, education, and employment.

AI literacy builds on digital literacy to encompass an understanding of artificial intelligence technologies: their applications, limitations, and social implications. In the report from Digital Promise, “AI Literacy: A Framework to Understand, Evaluate, and Use Emerging Technology,” the authors write, “AI literacy includes the knowledge and skills that enable people to critically understand, evaluate, and use AI systems and tools to safely and effectively participate in an increasingly digital world.”

This “understand, evaluate, use” framework supports and simplifies AI literacy acquisition for both teachers and students.

Scholars at the Georgia Institute of Technology define AI literacy as “a set of competencies that enables individuals to critically evaluate AI technologies; communicate and collaborate effectively with AI; and use AI as a tool online, at home, and in the workplace.” These six competencies are:

Recognizing AI: Distinguishing between technological artifacts that use and do not use AI.
Understanding “Intelligence”: Critically analyze and discuss features that make an entity “intelligent,” including discussing differences between human, animal, and machine intelligence.
Interdisciplinarity: Recognize that there are many ways to think about and develop “intelligent” machines. Identify a variety of technologies that use AI, including technology spanning cognitive systems, robotics, and ML (machine learning).
“General” vs. “Narrow” AI: Distinguish between general and narrow AI.
AI’s Strengths and Weaknesses: Identify problem types that AI excels at and problems that are more challenging for AI. Use this information to determine when it is appropriate to use AI and when to leverage human skills.
Imagine Future AI: Imagine possible future applications of AI and consider the effects of such applications on the world.

How to Teach AI Literacy

Weaving AI literacy into existing curriculum doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. Easy, practical steps for implementation include:

Designing cross-disciplinary projects that require the use of multiple AI tools
Incorporating AI into lesson plans by moving some activities to a digital platform
Using AI tools to access information such as real-world data sets for math and science classes
Introducing digital content creation tools to art classes
Leveraging AI-powered language learning tools in foreign language classes
Letting students experiment with AI tools that can compose music and analyze musical patterns

Integrating AI literacy into the existing curriculum ensures a holistic approach that helps students understand AI literacy not as an isolated skill but rather as an essential component of a modern education.

Critical Thinking Questions Students Should Be Thinking About AI

Who built this technology? Who is accountable if the AI makes mistakes or causes harm?
What problem is this AI designed to solve, or what task does it know how to execute?
How does this AI make decisions? What algorithms/data does it rely on? Do those decisions align with human values and ethical standards?
What measures are in place to avoid disproportionately affecting certain groups of people with this tool? What measures are in place to ensure the AI’s outputs are fair/unbiased?
What are the limitations of this tool?
How does this AI handle personal/sensitive data? What would happen if the data was misused or breached?
How does this AI enhance or hinder tasks or skills usually executed by a human?

Examples of Folding AI Literacy into Existing Curriculum for Students

General: real-time feedback with personal AI tutor; content tailored to user’s level of comprehension and challenge areas; virtual assistance for scheduling, reminders, and managing tasks
English: Chatbots; grammar and style editors; creative writing prompts
Math: practice problems; support with step-by-step solutions to help students understand the process
Science: virtual experiments with realistic simulations; data analysis and help drawing conclusions
History: virtual field trips; analyzing historical data to identify patterns and trends
Social studies: ethics of AI; analyzing social and economic trends; helping understand complex societal changes; simulations to model social systems and political scenarios
Art: image creation/editing tools

How to Evaluate AI Literacy

AI Use Cases for Educators that Impact Student Outcomes

In addition to teaching students how to responsibly use AI, schools and districts can leverage AI to their own advantage. Educators and administrators can use AI to:

Track attendance and absenteeism patterns
Identify students who may need extra support to stay in school
See predictive analytics for assessments, course enrollments, MTSS frameworks, and college and career planning
Improve operational efficiency (administrative workflows, IEP paperwork, and discipline referrals)
Improve teacher effectiveness: identify strengths and challenges of instructors, suggest areas for professional growth, and track progress

The ROI Later of AI Now

While there are many ethical considerations to keep in mind while adopting AI technology, the long-term return on investment (ROI) of AI tools in school settings is significant. With responsible implementation, students will benefit from:

Enhanced learning outcomes. As demonstrated earlier, students can use AI tools to enhance their learning experience in every subject.
Scalable personalization. AI can provide personalized recommendations and solutions tailored to individual student needs. This can improve student outcomes, leading to long-term benefits.
Improved accuracy. AI systems can analyze student performance data to provide more accurate assessments and more personalized feedback.
One-to-one student support. Delivering real-time feedback, AI equalizes the amount of attention and support students receive. Rather than spending a disproportionate amount of time working with a particular student or group of students, teachers can be attentive to the entire class and know that personalized, individual support is available to every learner.
Smarter Schools. Students embracing AI tools can improve critical thinking, data analysis, problem-solving, and computational thinking.