Elementary teachers adapt practices for AI in classroom curriculum
Adapting for AI: How elementary teachers adjust their practices for an AI-integrated curriculum
Human-Computer InteractionArtificial Intelligence
Summary
AI chat tools are becoming common for kids, and schools want to use them in lessons. This study looks at how three elementary teachers used an AI toy platform during a summer camp and how they changed their teaching to make AI useful and safe for their students. The teachers learned how to fix problems, tailor activities to different learners, explain AI concepts, and balance technology with teaching goals. Their understanding of AI and their teaching role changed as they worked with the AI tool.
What this means in practice
- •For education technology developers: Design AI tools and curricula that support teacher adaptations for diverse elementary classroom settings revealed by this study.
- •For summer camp coordinators: Structure AI literacy camps using lessons on managing technology, learner needs, and instruction balance from teachers’ adaptive practices.
Authors
Fasika Melese, Ruiyang Wu, Xinyue Cui, Joanna Perkins, Xiaoyi Tian, Tiffany Barnes, Shiyan Jiang
Abstract
Conversational AI tools are entering children's everyday experiences, and schools are interested in adopting them. However, successful classroom integration depends not only on the technology but also on the work teachers do to make it usable and appropriate for their students and classroom context. There is little known about how elementary teachers work as they implement conversational AI tools in real classrooms. In this study, we examine three teachers' experiences implementing an AI literacy and English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum built around ToyTalk, a conversational AI toy development platform, over 13 instructional days, a three-week summer camp. Drawing on daily individual reflections, group reflections, and post-camp interviews, we find that teachers' adaptive practices of repair, differentiation, translation, and balancing sit at the intersection of three tensions (technology, learner, and instruction). Teachers' understanding of AI and their role evolved over the camp experiences. From these findings, we contribute design implications and considerations for deploying conversational AI within elementary classrooms.