Curricular Content

The AI Play curricular content will be informed by emerging efforts to envision K-12 AI education. Prior research has identified five big ideas for AI K-12 education through a collaboration between AI experts and K-12 teachers. The ideas include: (1) Perception (computers perceive the world using sensors), (2) Representation & Reasoning (agents maintain models and representations of the world and use them for reasoning), (3) Learning (computers can learn from data), (4) Natural Interaction (making agents interact naturally with humans is a substantial challenge for AI developers), and (5) Societal Impact (AI applications can impact society in both positive and negative ways).

The AI Play curricular will also be driven by the science and engineering practices identified in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as well as the core computer science practices identified in the K-12 Computer Science Framework. AI Play will ground these practices in AI-focused digital game design activities. Recognizing the importance of meeting students’ and teachers’ needs, we are designing AI Play to flexibly integrate with camps and school-based programs.