The initiative, called Artificial Intelligence Professional Development Weeks: CS Foundations for Creating with AI, is intended to build teacher capacity as schools look to expand AI instruction. According to a news release today, the program supports the goals of the executive order on “Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth.”
The news release said the project will roll out over the next two years in Indiana, South Carolina, Minnesota, New Jersey, Iowa and Illinois, and at least three other states yet to be named. Organizers estimate the effort will directly serve roughly 2,500 to 3,000 teachers. Using a projection of 200 students per teacher, the news release said the program could broaden AI and computer science education for between 500,000 and 600,000 students.
For school systems, the initiative is designed around a scale-up model: intensive summer professional learning organized by instructional strands, followed by ongoing support through state and local educator networks. The goal is to expand AI teaching capacity without sacrificing instructional quality.
“Artificial intelligence is transforming every sector of our economy, and American students must be prepared not just to use AI, but to understand it and create with it,” NSF acting director Brian Stone, said in a public statement. “This investment will equip thousands of educators with the tools needed to bring AI and computer science into the classroom, turning the executive order into action and preparing the next generation to become innovators, builders and leaders. We are thinking beyond AI towards what the White House calls the ‘future of intelligence.’“
According to the news release, the training will help teachers strengthen their understanding of core computer science concepts such as data, algorithms, abstraction and systems, with an emphasis on how those concepts connect to AI tools and systems. The training is also expected to help educators design age-appropriate lessons and projects in which students use, build and evaluate AI systems, while expanding AI-related instruction in computer science courses and, where appropriate, other subject areas.
The project also includes a research component focused on how educators incorporate AI concepts, tools and ethical considerations into classroom instruction when they receive intensive professional learning and sustained support.
“AI is arriving in classrooms faster than AI literacy — and that gap is growing. Computer science provides the foundation students need to truly understand AI, and CS teachers are uniquely positioned to close that gap,” CSTA Executive Director Jake Baskin said in a public statement. “Through AI PD Weeks, CSTA equips educators with the knowledge and instructional strategies to move students beyond passive AI use toward deeper understanding, critical thinking and meaningful creation.”
The investment comes as districts, educators and education technology leaders continue to wrestle with how to move from ad hoc AI use to more structured instruction. It also follows other NSF investments in AI education last year, including the launch of a $9 million AI-focused math education program in December and solicitations for AI-related K-12 projects in August.
Editor's note: This story was developed in collaboration with GPT-4 and reviewed and edited by CDE Editorial staff.
