Project Grant 2627874

NSF FF: PLANNING: PROJECT FIREFLY - EMBEDDING AI INTERACTION IN K-6 INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING THROUGH COMMUNITY-DRIVEN CO-DESIGN -THIS FINDERS FOUNDRY AWARD EMBEDS SIMPLE AI ROUTINES DIRECTLY INTO SCIENCE, LITERACY, AND ENGINEERING INSTRUCTION SO STUDENTS LEARN THESE SKILLS DURING HANDS?ON INQUIRY. MANY YOUNG STUDENTS USE AI TOOLS IN DAILY LIFE BUT ARE SELDOM ENCOURAGED TO CHECK WHETHER RESPONSES ARE ACCURATE OR HELPFUL. CHILDREN WILL PRACTICE ASKING BETTER QUESTIONS, TESTING AI OUTPUTS, AND UNDERSTANDING LIMITS IN REAL LEARNING CONTEXTS. TEACHERS, FAMILIES, AND TECHNOLOGISTS WILL CO?DESIGN THE ROUTINES TO MAKE SURE APPROACHES ARE ACCESSIBLE WHILE ALSO SUPPORTING LEARNING GOALS. YOUNG LEARNERS WILL BE ENCOURAGED TO ACTIVELY QUESTION, EVALUATE, AND ENGAGE WITH EMERGENT TECHNOLOGIES DURING CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES. BY TEACHING AI LITERACY THROUGH EVERYDAY LESSONS, THE PROJECT WILL BUILD CONFIDENCE, CURIOSITY, AND RESPONSIBLE TECHNOLOGY USE FROM AN EARLY AGE. THIS FINDERS FOUNDRY AWARD DEVELOPS A NOVEL CLASSROOM INTERVENTION THAT SEAMLESSLY EMBEDS AI INTERACTION INTO EXISTING, INQUIRY-DRIVEN CORE SUBJECTS, SUCH AS SCIENCE AND LITERACY, RATHER THAN TEACHING AI LITERACY AS A STANDALONE TOPIC. THE PROJECT GENERATES NEW UNDERSTANDING OF WHICH DESIGN PRINCIPLES MOST EFFECTIVELY SUPPORT ELEMENTARY STUDENTS IN QUESTIONING, EVALUATING, AND RESPONSIBLY USING AI TOOLS WITHIN CORE STEM LEARNING. BY CO-DEVELOPING DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR K?6 ARTIFICIAL AI LITERACY EMBEDDED WITHIN CORE INSTRUCTION AT A STEM?FOCUSED CHARTER SCHOOL. PLANNING WORK WILL PRODUCE A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, WIREFRAMES, AND MEASURES TO ASSESS STUDENT GAINS IN EVALUATIVE REASONING, INQUIRY PARTICIPATION, AND ENGAGEMENT. THE PROJECT WILL DEFINE SCAFFOLDS, PROMPTS, AND TEACHER SUPPORTS THAT POSITION AI AS A THINKING PARTNER WITHIN CLASSROOM INQUIRY RATHER THAN AN ANSWER?PROVIDING SYSTEM. OUTPUTS WILL INCLUDE VALIDATED INSTRUCTIONAL COMPONENTS, EVIDENCE OF EARLY FEASIBILITY, AND A CLEAR PATHWAY INTO A FUTURE DEVELOPMENT PHASE. THE WORK INTEGRATES AI LITERACY INTO FOUNDATIONAL STEM PRACTICES IN A DEVELOPMENTALLY ALIGNED AND INSTRUCTIONALLY COHERENT MANNER. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.