Leveraging AI Innovation to Enhance School-Wide Literacy Through Active Learning in Montgomery County, North Carolina, Elementary Schools

About This Grant

The ElementaryAI project forms a research-practice partnership (RPP) between North Carolina State University and Montgomery County (North Carolina) Schools to address a critical need for improving student outcomes in English Language Arts and mathematics through the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) education. This project leverages elementary school children's excitement around AI to enhance learning in ELA and math while preparing students to take advantage of middle and high school opportunities to learn about drones and AI. The project is also designed to significantly enhance elementary school teachers' AI literacy and readiness to integrate AI in their classrooms. The project employs a highly collaborative and iterative process working with teachers to determine areas for learning improvement, and design new AI-integrated curricula to address those areas. The project will generate new knowledge on effective models for teacher professional development, curriculum design, and AI literacy assessment in elementary education. Montgomery County Schools will partner with NC State to integrate AI throughout the schools can improve teacher and student engagement and motivation, while engaging the broader community with more access to learning and technology to enhance readiness for AI and STEM careers. Key products of the ElementaryAI project are the development of a suite of AI-integrated elementary curricula, as well as adapted AI literacy scales for elementary students and teachers, both aligned using a 4-step AI thinking process related to computational thinking principles and to the big 5 ideas in the AI4K12 guidelines. The project employs a design-based implementation research (DBIR) approach, positioning teachers as co-designers and instructional leaders in adapting and enacting AI-integrated curricula aligned to school and district needs. The project will develop a teacher professional and leadership development model relying on the elementary school structure of STEM, art, media, and physical education specialist teachers, and investigate whether it is effective for disseminating AI-integrated curricula throughout 6 elementary schools in the county. The project will investigate and develop knowledge about: 1) best practices for improving teacher self-efficacy and willingness to teach AI, 2) barriers to AI adoption in elementary schools, and 3) effectiveness of AI integration in improving student AI literacy and performance in ELA and math. The joint RPP identification of barriers and opportunities for integrating AI in all elementary schools in one district can help similar schools and districts adopt these strategies more successfully. Since the NCSU project team members work closely with the NC Department of Public Instruction and State Board of Education, the project may potentially have a significant impact on statewide K-5 educational policies and programs in North Carolina. 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.