AI Rec 4 Standards, Knowledge and Skills

States should integrate into statewide K-12 standards and curricula the AI knowledge and skills students need to prepare them for success in the workforce.

State K-12 standards provide all students, regardless of where they live, access to the same high-quality education, with clear and measurable goals for student learning at each grade level. Standards help teachers understand what is expected of them and what students need to achieve.

State standards also guide the development of curricula so that instructional materials and teaching methods align with desired learning outcomes. When state K-12 standards align with the skills and knowledge needed for postsecondary education and careers, students should be prepared for success in the workforce.

Standards and Curricula Should Integrate AI

Preparing students for a workplace driven by AI will require that states review and update standards and curricula. Doing so will ensure that teachers – required by law to teach to the standards – change their classroom practice to meet the new standards.

States should integrate AI literacy into educational curricula, starting with the introduction of basic AI concepts at an early age, adding grade-appropriate knowledge and skills in the middle grades and high school.

Additionally, curricula should focus on developing critical thinking skills and adaptability, enabling students to understand and work alongside AI technologies effectively. By fostering a deep understanding of AI, students will be better prepared to navigate an increasingly AI-driven job market.

We need to acknowledge that AI has rendered much of our pedagogical repertoire obsolete and then we need to adjust — just as math teachers did when pocket calculators first appeared in the 1970s.

Faculty members need to move from the “what” pedagogy of the industrial era — students passively ingesting a heavily curated body of information for later regurgitation — to a “why” paradigm that turns students into builders of new knowledge through creative problem solving.

We must shift to a project-based course design that leverages students’ intrinsic curiosity while obviating the benefits of AI to achieve this goal. Here’s what that might mean in practice:

• First, grant students the autonomy to select an unresolved real-world problem of interest that is relevant to the course’s subject.
• Then make them responsible for inventing a novel but pragmatic solution to the problem they have chosen.

 ─ Professor Chad Raymond, writing in the Chronicle of Higher Education

References

Lee, A M. State academic standards: What you need to know. Understood.org. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/state-academic-standards-what-you-need-to-know

Raymond, C. (2024) AI and the Case for Project-Based Teaching. The Chronicle of Higher Education.  https://www.chronicle.com/article/ai-and-the-case-for-project-based-teaching

Sheikh, Amir. (2024). Do Educators Need to Adapt Pedagogies for AI-Driven Learning? Cryptopolitan. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/do-educators-need-to-adapt-pedagogies-for-ai-driven-learning/ar-BB1md1YE?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=DCTS&cvid=0c8e9b23cd254ed7bf55f09f521f49bd&ei=6

Standards Alignment to Curriculum and Assessment. (2018). The Center on Standards and Assessment Implementation. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED588503.pdf

Standards vs. Curriculum. What’s the difference? (2022). Southern Regional Education Board  https://www.sreb.org/publication/standards-vs-curriculum

The Secrets to Teacher Recruitment and Retention: How Three Georgia School Districts are Strategically Attracting, Keeping, and Investing in Their Teachers. The Georgia School Boards Agenda Magazine. Fall, 2023. https://gsba.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/2023-Fall-Agenda-Magazine.pdf

Why are standards important? Standards are guideposts for schools. (2024). GreatSchools.org. https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/why-are-standards-important