Corrected: A previous version of this article should have said that Rubin does not believe AI literacy should be a separate additional course.
A new survey shows educators feel confident they can integrate teaching about AI into their instruction, and most parents believe schools are ready to teach about the technology.
A survey commissioned by IBM and conducted by Morning Consult of 1,019 educators and 1,029 parents of K-12 children found 83% of educators said they are confident they can teach about AI, and 66% of parents said they feel confident that educators can tackle the topic.
Even though well over half of parents express confidence in schools to teach about the technology, the results do show a meaningful gap between what educators think they can do and what parents believe is possible, said Justina Nixon-Saintil, vice president and chief impact officer at IBM.
Nixon-Saintil said the survey results raise critical questions, such as: “What does it really mean to bring AI into a school system? How can it help educators and leaders in a school system so that they can spend more time with children? I’m not sure parents have that full awareness of the benefit of AI in the K-12 space.”
Gaps between what educators and parents think is pretty common, said Michael Rubin, principal of Uxbridge High School in Uxbridge, Mass.
Rubin said what was particularly striking about the survey results was the percentage of educators who reported feeling ready to teach about AI. “I was a little surprised,” he said.
Rubin said one of the big challenges for schools is that there is no consensus on how schools should integrate AI into instruction. This is “yet another area that we’re asking teachers and schools to try to master—[it’s like] flying a plane that’s still very much being built,” he added.
Different ways teachers learn about AI in education
Educators surveyed said they learn about AI in education mostly through social media (39%). Among educator respondents, middle school teachers (47%) use social media more than high school teachers (35%) to learn about AI in education.
Nixon-Saintil said the higher levels of AI use in high school could be because teachers at that level focus more on college or workforce readiness than middle school teachers, who are typically spending most of their time helping students get academically ready for high school.
Rubin suggested that teachers might consider exploring AI use on the tech platforms students use to better understand how they are using the technology.
“Sometimes, we are getting our ideas from our colleagues or information that’s coming from social media,” said Rubin. “This helps us model for the kids how to vet information, what may be true, what may be manufactured.”
The second most popular source educators use to learn more about AI is friends or family (31%), according to the IBM/Morning Consult survey. Professional development (30%), school or district communications (28%), and academic or research publications (25%) were other sources educators used.
“For the responsible use of AI in the school system, educators need access to training and support,” said Nixon-Saintil. But “many educators are getting their own training resources that are outside of the school system or outside of credentialed or certified companies who understand how AI is changing the workforce and changing education.”
Should schools create AI literacy courses?
While there has been a bigger push in school districts nationwide to teach students about AI literacy, how to put it into practice is still all over the map.
According to a nationally representative survey of nearly 500 teachers, principals, and district leaders conducted in December and January by EdWeek Research Center, 80% said high school students in their districts are receiving lessons on what AI is and how to use it responsibly.
The survey did ask a related question about whether schools should offer AI literacy as a course, either mandatory or elective. About 59% of educators said AI literacy should be either required or offered as an elective, compared to 40% of parents.
But Rubin said he does not believe there should be an additional course on AI literacy. Similar to digital literacy, it should be embedded across all subjects, he said.
Offering a separate additional course on AI literacy would undermine making this a “community responsibility and [it] becomes sort of the purview of one person or another.”
