CSC News

Artificial Intelligence Education and the Next Generation

Dr. James Lester, Director of the Center for Educational Informatics and Distinguished University Professor at NC State, and Dr. Bradfort Mott, Senior Research Scientist at NC State, have been awarded $985,585 by the National Science Foundation to support their research proposal entitled “Integrating Artificial Intelligence into Upper Elementary Science with Immersive Problem-Based Learning”.

The award will run from September 1, 2019 to August 31, 2022.

Abstract – Artificial intelligence has emerged as a technology that promises to have unprecedented societal impact. Integrating AI into the science curriculum holds significant potential for introducing students to deep science inquiry while simultaneously providing them with an experiential understanding of the role that AI can play in science problem solving. The proposed project will center on the design, development, and investigation of PrimaryAI, a curricular framework that integrates science and AI for upper elementary science education. Featuring an immersive game-based learning environment, PrimaryAI will use problem-based learning as the foundation for science inquiry in which students grades 3-5 will utilize AI tools to solve complex ecosystem problems within an immersive science adventure. Students will engage in scientific problem solving tightly integrating AI and science to learn about ecosystems phenomena, mechanisms, and components that comprise a system, and make inferences about change over time for biological systems. The project will use design-based research to understand how best to integrate AI and science in upper-elementary science classrooms.

For more information on Dr. James Lester, click here .

For more information on Dr. Bradford Mott, click here.

~snyder~