Educators and Researchers Working Together to Shape the Future of AI

By Jeremy Roschelle and Krista Glazewski

On May 24, 2024, approximately 40 educators and 40 researchers traveled to the William and Ida Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University (NC State) for an intensive, day-long workshop hosted by the EngageAI Institute. This third annual forum brought the educational community together around the theme “Collaboratively Shaping the Future of AI: Lessons Learned and Emerging Opportunities.” The interactive meeting developed relationships among leading educators from North Carolina and across the country and nationally-recognized experts in artificial intelligence (AI) from four universities and Digital Promise, a nonprofit. Two major outcomes of the meeting included reflections on lessons learned during the 2023-24 school year and considerations of emerging opportunities of AI in K-12 education.

The event was intentionally designed to leverage the knowledge, experiences, contributions, and voices of every person in attendance. In order to foreground leadership and experiences of educators during the recent school year, this workshop opened with a panel discussion and listening session and de-emphasized the technology. In the ensuing discussion, educators raised these four priority questions:

  1. How can we prepare students for a future with AI?
  2. How can we prepare students to critique and use AI?
  3. How can risks of AI, particularly bias, be addressed?
  4. How can AI transform formative assessment?

Next, a featured session discussed a recently released AI Bill of Rights for Educators, which was a joint effort of educators and researchers undertaken by the EngageAI Institute. The Bill of Rights called for teachers to have SAFE AI: Support, Agency, Fairness, Equitable Access, Advocacy, and Information. Those present discussed how to maintain an outlook and policies regarding AI in schools that empower teachers and maintain a humanistic emphasis.

In the afternoon, the topic shifted to current EngageAI Institute research at NC State, Indiana University, Vanderbilt University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Digital Promise. Breakout sessions provided opportunities for researchers to share their work on narrative-centered learning environments as a use case for AI and hands-on experiences for attendees. For example, educators exploring the Institute’s Food Justice narrative (see graphic illustration) recognized the exciting potential for teachers to leverage stories as a strategy for integrating significant science content with social impact potential.

The impact of the forum was reflected in participants’ exchange of knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. One attendee reflected that “while teachers are starting to embrace the promise of AI, many educators are approaching it with a sort of cautious optimism.” From another perspective, a researcher remarked that “not getting lost in the pure research aspect of the work and really delving into how this work can be useful/influential for practitioners” was the most memorable portion of the day. Others left with a concrete set of next steps: “I plan to meet with our local school district’s superintendent as well as some local researchers to collaborate on some effective strategies to move initiatives forward with technology.” Future forums will also provide opportunities to deepen conversations and connections among participants.