Abstract:

This study explores grades 5-6 teacher thinking as they engage students with multiple representations of “mechanical” decision-making structures in:
(1) mathematics (Venn diagrams, Boolean algebra, sets and subsets of numbers);
(2) computer science (conditional structures, AND and OR operators); and
(3) science (series and parallel circuits).

With the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) in society, it has become important that students and teachers develop not only an understanding of the uses and implications of AI, but also a conceptual understanding of how machines “think”. As we have worked to develop AI education resources, which we are publicly available https://AI-Ed.ca), we have come to appreciate the importance of young students experiencing and understanding some of the overlapping mathematics, science, and computer science concepts that come together to make AI possible, and to do so through resources and activities designed with a low floor (enabling conceptual engagement with minimal prerequisite knowledge) and a high ceiling (offering deeper conceptual connections and varied representations). The focus of this study is on one set of resources and activities that we have created with this purpose in mind. In our presentation and paper, we will discuss its design and development as well as share what we have learned from classroom implementation.

Keywords:

Mathematics, computer science, science, AI education, resources, activity design.