Dear AI4K12 Committee:
Here is a quick update about what we have been doing, what we have learned and the challenges ahead. Your feedback is very much appreciated and welcomed!
Since early Aug, we have begun ReadyAI Lab. The idea has been to teach 5 Big Ideas in AI in two sessions of beginner and intermediate courses in 90 min duration per class.
The Beginner Course (4 class sessions) has been focusing on teaching five big ideas through unplugged activities, including AI+Me. Students participating since early September have finished the course with basic Calypso knowledge and conducted small projects (after 360 min of classroom sessions). We have also assessed students on a basic understanding of: 1. Seven skills (although objective assessment of these skills remain challenging for us and particularly for K-2 and 3-5), 2. Learning five big ideas and being able to explain them with examples (surprisingly very positive in all age categories), 3. Utilizing six AI applications and 4. Demonstrating eight distinct skills under PBL, see below for the evaluation matrix. (I'll be happy to share some of the preliminary results of our Sept-Oct class experience further with you if it is of interest for grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8)
To involve the parents in students' learning journey (here are examples of Frank and Cynthia's AI Journey in the Beginner Course), we have examined different ways to include and involve parents on: what, how and why the kids are learning in ReadyAI Lab. Furthermore, we observed that "post-class visual updates" remain one of the most effective methods to keep parents in the loop. Parents don't have time, and AI remains quite overwhelming, so visual storytelling remains more engaging and powerful. Below is an example of the post-class email sent to parents.
At the end of each course (beginner + intermediate), parents and students had a chance to see the student report card. However, visualizing the assessed criteria (mentioned above) remain a major challenge. The attached PDF is a sample report card (Feedback is welcomed).
Another major obstacle to entry remains time to classroom/set up or full deployment time - in schools and afterschool programs alike. We have attempted to address that through not just providing curriculum but a "comprehensive kit" that goes through every step of setting up, activities, projects, print materials, and the overall blueprint of the entire AI learning experience. In Sept and Oct, we have had K12 teachers in the US and abroad (Asia and EU Zone in particular) approaching us for the "comprehensive kit" more so than the stand-alone curriculum. I will have data on this in January 2020 as we are still in the assessment period.
What we have learned so far has helped us to bulletproof AI learning content one step further, hopefully in the right direction, for the students, parents, and teachers. Looking forward to discussing further with you in Arlington!
Rooz
--Roozbeh Aliabadi---------------------------------------------------ReadyAI CEOA Wholeren Group Company 美国厚仁教育Phone: 347-703-7465US: Pittsburgh | Seattle | San Francisco | Los Angeles | Boston | New York | Washington DC | LansingChina: Beijing | Chongqing | Chengdu | Guangzhou
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