Pulitzer Center Update October 24, 2024
AI Teacher Advisory Council Models Classroom Engagement with AI Accountability News Stories
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Educators and students make up a critical audience for news related to the Pulitzer Center’s Information and Artificial Intelligence focus area. Schools and classrooms are already engaging in conversations about how emerging AI technologies are impacting teaching, and 78% of educators surveyed through our K-12 Education newsletter and social media channels this summer believed their students needed to learn about AI technologies. However, only 26% reported feeling equipped to lead such conversations.
Our survey also found that educators have a quite nuanced view on AI technologies, with 71% percent saying they see AI as being both potentially damaging and potentially beneficial to them, their students, and society. Educators are asking meaningful AI questions and seeking resources that can provide answers.
The Information and Artificial Intelligence Teacher Advisory Council is a Pulitzer Center Education program established in response to this teacher feedback and data about the challenges and opportunities that exist when trying to engage students in conversations about AI technologies and their impacts on society.
The 14 educators in the AI Teacher Advisory Council rose to the challenge of resourcing educators with key understandings about AI and Pulitzer Center-funded reporting on AI accountability through the development of classroom toolkits to support teacher and student understanding of the impact of artificial intelligence in their schools and communities.
View the full presentation here.
The Teacher AI Accountability Toolkit, developed by the Advisory Council, includes key concepts for better understanding and differentiating between AI technologies as well as questions for consideration when reading news reports about AI. Teachers will be able to become more knowledgeable about the history of AI, develop shared language and frameworks for talking about AI in their schools and communities, and better understand how the issue of artificial intelligence intersects with other global issues, like the environment, labor rights, and governance.
“I love how the introduction to the topic starts with something general which most teachers are familiar with such as digital footprints and then provide(s) them with contextual examples from Pulitzer's reports. The explanation of the types of AI is particularly useful for both teachers and students. Starting with something that they are familiar with such as ChatGPT and followed up with precaution that it is a type of AI (Generative AI) that would attempt to fill in information when it doesn't have sufficient data to pull from. It is crucial to demystify AI that it is not as intelligent as the name intentionally suggested and that it is important to consider accuracy, data privacy, data training, etc. The reflection questions are key for users, teachers or students alike to ask themselves before considering using AI.” — Chayanee Brooks, AI Council member
The Student AI Accountability Toolkit provides students with key terms they can define to better understand news stories about AI accountability. The resource also highlights Pulitzer Center-supported AI news stories that are of high interest to student demographics and help to fully put their AI vocabulary terms into context.
Students who engage with the toolkit will be better prepared for an AI-focused Virtual Journalist Visit and for general conversation about AI technologies with their families and communities. The toolkit is designed so that educators can modify instruction, engaging students in different ways and at different paces with the resources and questions curated for learning.
"I shared some photos and student 'think papers' with you all. This work has opened the doorway to thinking critically about the thread of AI that runs through all of our lives with a strong connection to statistics, underreported stories and making sense of the data, lack of data and data taken without permission surrounding and impacting our communities and lives." — Susan Greenwald, AI Council member
Prior to developing the AI Classroom Toolkits, Advisory Council members utilized their own professional expertise and the K-12 teacher audience survey data to determine what kinds of tools would best support educators and students in finding and understanding AI accountability reporting.
Council members also engaged as learners themselves with journalists and resources from the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network. After their resource development, Advisory Council members piloted the resources by implementing them in their own classrooms, reaching a combined 450 students.
All Council members were asked to document student engagement with the AI Accountability Toolkit and follow up implementation by engaging students with a Virtual Journalist Visit. The toolkit and AI Accountability Network resources proved useful across grade levels and classroom contexts with Council members teaching a variety of courses, including English language arts, civics, writing, digital art, computer science, probability and statistics, and social studies to students in grades five-12.
Council members recommend that other educators hoping to utilize the resources with their students take time to familiarize themselves with the resource before implementing; modify and adapt the lesson to student interests by selecting the Pulitzer Center AI reporting that students in your classroom might be most compelled by; and use the opportunity to include a Virtual Journalist Visit as a part of the instruction if you can.
In addition to benefiting from the instructional material, Council members reported finding joy and value in the professional learning space with other educators and engaging in dialogue with the journalists in the AI Accountability Network. All of our surveyed Council members received resources they plan to use in their classrooms through this program, and 85% reported expanding their understanding of artificial intelligence. The space, which was intentionally curated to have educators who range from AI novices to AI experts, felt unique and productive to educators.
“I loved the range of comfort there was regarding teachers' previous knowledge of AI and technology. I most loved, however, meeting the journalists! I found all three to be totally fascinating because there was a sense of wonder in all of their presentations—they were presenting their research but also very much aware they were in dialogue with educators who wanted to share their research in the best way possible. There was a mutual respect for the journalist/experts in a field and educators and I think that is a real key to creating better next steps in schools.” - Jane Lawrence, AI Council member
On October 10, 2024, 25 teachers gathered to watch Advisory Council members present the Classroom Toolkits for the first time, with 100% of surveyed attendees reporting they are likely to use the resources in their own classrooms.
All teachers who register for our upcoming Featured AI Journalist Visits will receive the AI Accountability Classroom Toolkits as a resource to prepare their students for the journalist conversation. As a result of this, the AI Teacher Advisory Council resources will continue having immediate impact in classrooms across the country.
We’re excited to see how the hard work the AI Teacher Advisory Council members put into this program continues to benefit other classrooms this school year, and we will continue to review the feedback we receive on the AI Accountability Classroom Toolkits as we plan for continued engagement of educators.
Subscribe to the K-12 Education newsletter for more on classroom resources and professional development opportunities for educators.
View the AI Accountability Classroom Toolkits in our K-12 Lesson Library and register for an upcoming featured AI journalist visit to bring these critical conversations to your classrooms and learning communities.
Casey McCullough's students' work: High school students from Councilmember Casey McCullough’s computer science class in California read a series of articles outlined in the toolkit and crafted analytical responses.
