Abstract:

Children today are surrounded by technology, and since computers are widely used at households and schools, children have the opportunity to be introduced to the technology very early. It is important to notice that early childhood learning programs and interventions can have enduring effects. Problem-solving is a part of active learning, and people are required to solve problems in their everyday lives. However, problems that students solve during their formal education are often well-structured with rules and predictable solutions, which is not consistent with real-life situations. We all work with smart devices, and it is a good time to consider what young people need to know about AI and information technology. Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing almost every industry around us, including education. Since students in primary school today will have to work in a future where AI is all present reality, it is essential to expose them to the technology as early as possible and develop their understanding of computer science and AI itself. Students need to recognize AI concepts and have the possibility to choose a pathway for creating their own AI projects. Most of the activities related to AI are intended for older students. However, we set the goal of introducing AI to primary school students. This paper presents a project implementing a curriculum for teaching primary school students AI starting from concrete concepts to abstract. Throughout our curriculum, students can develop the idea about how technology works, how the human brain works and connect computer graphics with neural networks used in their projects. The final result is a challenge for students to think of their own AI project ideas using problem-solving, design and implement those ideas, and present their projects with the support of their teachers. We present the experience and results of teaching AI to primary school students starting from teaching materials, coaching teachers as mentors and evaluating students' projects.

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence, primary school, problem-based learning.