Technology Essentials in Education Episode 31:
Building AI Awareness with Our Youngest Students

Welcome to today's episode of Technology Essentials in Education. I'm very excited to chat with Nneka McGee today about a topic that I get asked about more and more, which is what does AI really look like for our youngest learners?

Now, I first connected with Mika last year. She has a quick reference guide from ASCD and ISTE all about this topic. She's taught in education for quite some time as a teacher, a campus leader, a chief academic officer in public schools, and her research really focuses on how AI in education is implemented in K-12 classrooms. Her perspective on what it looks like to talk about AI with younger learners and why it's important not to wait to have those conversations is really fantastic. She has so many wonderful insights. I can't wait for you to listen.

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Welcome to the podcast. I'm so excited to talk with you, not just about a big, hot topic like AI, but specifically using AI with young learners. And before we get into all of that, can you share a bit with listeners? What is your role in education? What does your day-to-day look like?

Well, first of all, thank you, Monica. This is amazing. I love the fact that I have the opportunity to converse with you today about a topic that I am passionate about, and that is AI for our littlest learners. In terms of my day-to-day, I'm always a teacher, so I still consider myself to be a teacher, however, and a former chief academic officer serving in public schools. This is my 19th year in education. But currently, my role is more in strategic advising. My doctoral research was in AI in education and its implementation, specifically in K-12 classrooms. Because of that unique experience of being a teacher, a campus leader, a district administrator, and having the experience with implementation of AI, it was almost a perfect storm. People are seeking how do we do this in a way that benefits our students and is effective for our communities? I feel very fortunate to be in a position to support and to serve in that capacity.

Yeah, and like you mentioned, this is a really specific group that you're thinking about when we talk about using AI with younger students, younger learners. So much of the conversation is what's going to happen to writing an essay in a high school English classroom? And I understand that. It's an important conversation to think about students in a secondary setting, of course. But today, with this topic, when educators think about actually using AI with younger learners, what does that really mean? What does that look like in your mind? Where do you see the right entry points?

So there are several entry points. When I talk to school leaders and educators in early education, the first bridge that I want to cross is to inform them or make them aware of or connect the awareness to the fact that they're already using AI in some form or AI related. A lot of times, because the focus is so much on generative AI, they may think, oh, well, we're not using AI in the classroom. I think it's important to talk about things like computer adaptive tests, which is probably going to be the first entry point, or even to say some type of machine learning related system, or even like a recommender system. I think it's important you're not getting scientific in terms of the machinations behind different AI and AI related systems. But once there is that awareness and that connection, it is an entry point to say, what do we do next? And that's when it comes to our kids.

I am someone who thinks that in terms of direct interactions with AI systems, unless it's something that's guided, that's more proven, there are some proven methods out there. That's why I think it's also important to talk about the more traditional or older forms of AI in use. Because for our littles, I think generative AI, the jury is still out. This is a technology that in force, you think about the article that we call the Transformer article, it's not even 10 years old. When we think about AI as a whole being around for decades, AI and education, the society has been around for almost 40 years. We're just on the cusp of what to do. So I don't think that we are in a position right now to have our kids fully, particularly at the youngest ages, to be fully and directly interacting with that type of system.

That's such a great point about the ways that people are interacting with AI already, that students are. I often say when I work with groups, we're very likely to point at something and say, that's AI, right? But it doesn't mean that that's the only type of AI that's working maybe behind the scenes. Like the adaptive technology you mentioned in spaces that students, that teachers and educators at all levels, including early elementary, are interacting with.

When we think about elementary education, I taught fifth grade for about seven years. Fifth graders are very different than kindergartners in all the ways. So how do you think about the difference between AI for kindergarten or first grade versus an upper elementary classroom? What shifts as kids get older?

So first of all, when we think about development in our littlest learners, there are various studies that show that the amount of learning that takes place in terms of 80% of brain development occurs between zero to five years old. With that, how do we encourage that? How do we support that? One of the ways is through communication and through hands-on activities. You have to think about certain things that occur in terms of the development, not in terms of linguistics, their language, but in terms of phonemics. It's important to have conversations and to communicate. A lot of times when we think communication, there are young people where actual talking is not the way that they communicate. I like to focus on that communication. There is actual research from Hattie that shows that discussion and effective questioning works. We are in that for our littlest learners, where 80% of their brain development is occurring and their language skills. This is the time to have those conversations. Studies show that their bones in their fingers haven't even developed, so they're not necessarily having them hold pencils and write all the time. For that age, if anybody works with young kids, they know they love to communicate and they love to ask questions. That is one of the ways to have entry points.

In terms of the other things they're doing, how do you relate that to some of the standards that they're looking for? Unlike some of the other curriculum in terms of state standards, a lot of times when it comes to pre-K and early education, there isn't a set, there are guidelines. One of those guidelines and one of the things you can do along with this conversation is to do activities like making them aware of the real world around them and how it connects to AI as an entry point. For example, I might say, okay kids, the sky is, and then they have a plate, now one of their big crayons, you get to choose a color and color in the plate how you think the color of the sky is. Many times, you'll say hold up your plate and it's like, what color do most of you see? Look around and what do you think the color is that you would see most? Blue, right? But you'll have a kid that'll have gray or yellow. Think about the layers of questioning. Why do you think one of you would choose yellow or several of you would choose yellow? Then you connect and say, if I put all of your plates together and then ask the machine, because they'll also think that all AI is robots. So put it to a machine or put it to the robot, how do you think the robot will respond? It will say blue. But what if it comes up that it's gray this time? What do you think? Those are the type of things that you can do. You're not using technology, but you're building an awareness through research-backed effective instructional strategies that are connected to the guidelines for that age group and helping with the appropriate development that research shows is effective for their age group.

I think that's a really great example, especially for someone who maybe isn't quite sure what it looks like for younger children to interact with an AI tool. It's more about the strategy. It's more about what's happening behind the scenes that isn't them pressing all the buttons on something, but like you mentioned, having these really deep conversations.

What role does the teacher play when AI does start to become part of a younger student's learning experience? Maybe it's through some of that adaptive technology. Maybe it is introducing something a little bit closer to generative AI. What have you seen or what would you recommend a teacher's role be in those situations?

As a teacher, in determining that role, the first thing is to get guidance from either your district or your school leader because they're going to really help shape how you interact with AI with your kids. That's the first step. Sometimes people are like, use this free trial, and you're like, yes, let's go. I'm not recommending that. I have to look at it through the lens of my district leader, security, and privacy. I say look there first because that is going to help you. Again, with younger kids, what you will see, and these are the things to become aware with, if you were asking me for a first step, I would say teachers, go and see. Even if you have to ask your IT professionals at your school districts or in your schools, ask them which tools that they actually already use in the classroom that are either powered by AI or AI-related systems.

Why is that step important? Because then you're able to gain knowledge about those tools that'll help you navigate how you interact with them and how your kids interact with them. For example, if you're taking a computer adaptive test, think about the different layers. First, you have your kid who's having to press the buttons. Some of the kids may or may not notice, depending on the testing environment, that some of them are getting questions that are different from other kids. Why does that happen? When it comes to reporting, how are the measures in the evaluation communicated with families? When you have that awareness, when you say, okay, this actual test is a computer adaptive test. These are how these tests function. Now you become a guide and a facilitator, and you're much more in a position to help.

I am also realistic. I know that there are many tools when it comes to generative AI that teachers, even for our youngest learners, are encouraged to use. But again, going back to let your school leaders be your guide. If you aren't getting the training that you feel is necessary, many of these programs and their companies do have training available. Again, find those ways that are effective, but keep safety and privacy for your students in mind.

You asked me earlier, what would it look like? What's the difference between a littlest learner doing hands-on activities and someone in fifth grade who may start to utilize it in a way that they are interacting? For example, they may use something like auto-draw. They may use another type of tool or a generative AI tool. It is up to the teacher to be aware, to monitor, but also to let kids understand the safety and privacy protocols that are in place. Kids understand. I always recommend because someone's like, well, how do you, even if the kids are saying robots, I say encourage them to use AI. A little three-year-old may be like, all right, hula, hula, whatever, but you have to encourage them to utilize the terms. Then we do have to be realistic with the situations. But I do feel like educators can become informed. It does not mean that they have to become experts, but there are still so many teachers, unfortunately, who aren't aware of the amount of AI that is available in their classrooms, but not as a negative, but are actually supportive in ways that aren't communicated.

We're hearing so much about efficiency, save time, give automated feedback. It's like, no, you can really use these to help your kids learn in ways that are exciting.

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And those are such great reminders for someone who's thinking like, what is my role in all of this? That level of just being informed, not having to be an expert is also such a great reminder. So much of the professional learning work that I do is around that capacity building. You have an understanding of these vocabulary terms, feel more confident in the conversations you have with families and with students. And so that piece and the examples that you gave of reaching out to your IT department, asking for some more information, getting a sense of what's powering these experiences, you're deciding or you're being asked, maybe at the district level, to share with students is huge.

And so there's plenty that may happen in terms of student-facing experiences, but how can teachers, and you alluded to this a bit just in terms of developing resources more than just the efficiency, so how can teachers of younger students use AI on the backend, behind the scenes, in their own planning or prep work to better support their students?

So I will say the primary way that I've seen it particularly for our littlest learners is for communication. In particular, you may have families where the teacher speaks a different language, it's not bilingual, or even if they are bilingual, there are certain situations. I have seen where the teachers are excited, leaders are excited to find ways that they are able to communicate. Again, as we started this conversation, communication is so important. We do see teachers generating worksheets, activities, things of that nature. I don't have a specific issue with that. I just feel like, depending on the situation, are you working with others? Are you working with your colleagues to see if these are pedagogically sound in terms of those worksheets? And then again, think about the dichotomy, because even our young kids, if we're saying you can't use AI, it is not surprising to me that kids are like, this worksheet is an AI worksheet, but we can't use AI? Your kindergartner will say that. You'll be like, what? So again, that shouldn't be a stopping point. It is an entry point of conversation to say, well, me as an adult, I have different levels of access because of where I am in terms of my development and my knowledge base that you don't have yet. But what's exciting is as you continue to grow, these will be available to you. So that's the way to have the conversation, but understand that those things will occur.

We can't deny the time saving aspects of it. Some people do use it for grading. Some people do use it for ideation, which is great. Let me come up with some great ideas. My caveats with the grading and those, anything where we're entering in student information is particularly for our younger learners. We have to think about FERPA for everybody. We all do the video every year if you're an educator. But COPPA, when it comes to kiddos that are 13 years of age or younger, and now specifically the new regulations, you can't have blanket statements. You have to get that permission from that parent and it has to be specific, and so understanding that those things are in place. CEPA, which is another one that is not talked about as much because it focuses with E-rate and things of that nature, but being aware that there are regulations in place, and this doesn't even begin to touch upon state privacy laws or what the district is beginning to say. I know it's a lot for our teachers. Their plates are full, but I would rather a teacher on the front end have this information and understand that they can kind of take a step back and breathe and make sure that they are using it effectively in ways that keep our kids safe as opposed to the alternative where they use something in a way that is not appropriate, but they're not aware of the consequences of those type of actions.

Absolutely, and I think those are all things that even if you're not the person making a decision about a certain tool or resource, just to have the capacity, we all don't know what we don't know, so it's important to know some of these things, particularly as you're using a tool, making a decision, if you're going to bring something into your environment. And just to go back a moment, I really love your framing on the transparency conversations. Like, I use AI because my access is different. What a wonderful way to frame that conversation for students in an elementary situation, but also students in different situations depending on their grade level. Those conversations may have some big similarities when you talk about transparency and what different levels of access will open up for them over their academic career.

So for an early elementary teacher who's curious, but maybe hesitant about AI use with their students, and maybe is considering what would this look like if I stay offline to really embrace building some AI literacy in their group of students, what is a low stakes first step they might take?

The first step is the conversation. I know for some people, and I'm asked that question a lot, and they're always like, huh? And it's like, yeah, what is AI? What do you think AI is? Yes, you'll most likely get it's a robot, and that's okay. But having that conversation, again, it's research backed, it's what they need, it's helping with their development. Going back to what you mentioned before, about having those levels and talking about those levels of access, the reason why this is important is because we know that our littlest learners have a strong grounding in fairness, what is fairness, what's mine, and what isn't mine. I always say start with the conversation, what is AI? How do you think, if you say it's a robot, do you see robots in your life? What do you think about when you, because a lot of kids, I want to say all, because that's a little bit, they're in your phones, what do you think when your mom or your family member or caregiver is opening up their phone? What do you think when you're always, what's your favorite kind of cartoon or cartoon character? Why do you think that always shows up when you open up your phone or your different type of device, tablet? Those type of conversations are important. Hattie shows one to two-year effect size of one is 4.2, one is 8.2, in terms of the effect, the baseline being 0.4 in terms of that effect size. It's important to understand that this is not just someone coming out of nowhere to say questions and conversations are very powerful entry points. Of course, at that age group, hands-on activities, that's what I advocate for. Personally, I don't think that actual interaction with certain types of AI systems are the most effective way to introduce AI to our littlest learners. They need to have an awareness of it, they need to be able to define it, but any type of hands-on activity will work wonders. There are so many that are available for educators. I can recommend a couple of websites to get some of those activities if you'd like.

No, absolutely. If any resources you have, and it kind of gets me to my final question here, because I know that you share, and you yourself are such a great resource. You have a quick reference guide that goes through some of these components. That is a fantastic resource for anyone who's curious about this topic. So where can people connect with you? Where can they learn more about your work and the resources you share?

Yes, and thank you. I do have a guide, AI for Young Learners, balancing tech use with authentic offscreen experiences. I have activities called kid-adult partner activities, which kind of outline, it starts with that definition, it starts with identifying where AI and AI-related systems are used around them having those conversations. It also has activities that go through the types of thinking and action that's involved, going from patterns and classification to labeling. Those types of activities are important as well. There are nonprofit organizations that also have very powerful resources. Code.org is one organization, MIT Rays, who sponsor the Day of AI. They have some very powerful resources as well. Those are some good starting points. ISTE also has some great activities in terms of one of them is a STEM book. It's not a book, but it's available online, and it has so many activities. It's so comprehensive. They also have hands-on guides. Those are very powerful resources. I don't feel like a teacher has to spend money in order to become aware or gain access to materials that will help them introduce AI to their kids. Finally, I want to mention Visions by Vicky. Vicky Sedgwick is a veteran computer science teacher based in California, and she has a wealth of information specifically for K-2, but some of them are applicable for our pre-K, our three and four-year-olds, particularly because she includes a lot of books that are relevant to those age groups and how you can integrate those books into lessons. That brings in our other powerful piece that is so important at that age, which is literacy. Those are some of the resources that I recommend for starting points for teachers.

Perfect. Such a great starting point for anyone who's listening today, wants to go a little bit further, wants to go a little bit deeper. This has been such an informative, powerful conversation for anyone working with or just curious about what it looks like to bring AI literacy to our youngest learners. Thank you so much for your time, your strategies, and your great insight today.

Thank you as well, Monica. This has been great.

It was wonderful chatting with Dr. Nika McGee today. I'm sure you have some ideas that you can bring back into your learning environment or share with another educator in your community. Let's finish up with a few takeaways from the conversation. First, start AI literacy with young learners through conversations and hands-on activities, not screens. Help educators recognize that AI is already present in tools like computer adaptive tests and recommender systems. Use research-backed strategies like effective questioning and discussion as entry points for AI awareness. Frame AI transparency with young learners by explaining that adults have different levels of access because of their development. Make sure to stay connected with Dr. Nika McGee. She is a wonderful resource if you're curious about this topic. A big thank you to Jotform, the presenter of today's episode. To learn more about Jotform and how educational institutions can get a 30% discount on Jotform Enterprise, head to Jotform.com slash enterprise slash education.