Learning materials for Artificial Intelligence in school

The teaching material Artificial Intelligence in school is intended for primary and secondary school education and aims to initiate reflections among students on the pros and cons of using artificial intelligence as a tool - in particular, why and how to critically relate to the information that artificial intelligence generates. The material consists of a number of different resources that can be used individually or combined in a process.

The material has been developed with the national curricula in mind and thus supports the general objectives of digital education in the education sector. In addition, the development process has taken into account that students are at varying levels of knowledge. Although it is designed for schooling and upper secondary education, there is also learning value in it for older generations. 

Kasper Damgaard Johansen, member of the board of FALS - Association of Teachers in Social Studies, lecturer at Nærum Gymnasium and member of the board of Chechnya, explains:
“If we want to educate citizens who can live critically in the society they will be surrounded by and who have control over their lives, [...] it simply requires a critical approach to artificial intelligence and a source-critical approach to what kind of information we get from there.”

He continues: “The teaching material is hugely engaging and engaging because it is not missionary. It does not tell students not to use artificial intelligence [...] Instead, the material draws attention both to the potential of the technology and to the reservations to be made when using it [...] There is a basic assumption that the technology is here and that we will be affected by it no matter what. [The material] gives students some tools to deal with it. They are not made into villains who just try to cheat in their tasks with ChatGPT, they are made into capable individuals who are taken seriously along the way.”

Library assistant Bettina Panduro, who teaches pupils in school and young people about other educational opportunities in, among other things, artificial intelligence, says: “The material illustrates that chatbots are more communication tools than information tools, which I think many of the students perceive them as. In this way, the material equips them to become better and more critical users.”

Material 

Teaching presentations: Width of the source base

Duration: 45-90 minutes.
In this lesson, students are asked to consider the properties of various sources - including chatbots. Please reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of different sources and how to relate to them when using them. Students try to gather information on a topic from different sources and thereby gain concrete experience with the strengths and weaknesses of the sources.

Teaching presentations: Machines that believe

Duration: 60-90 minutes.
In this lesson, students are presented with the fact that responses from language models such as ChatGPT and Gemini are not necessarily either correct or neutral, and that they can help strengthen prejudices and stereotypes that prevail in society. Students are asked to reflect on their own prejudices, and based on a concrete example, they are presented with bias in responses from ChatGPT. Finally, students are asked to reflect on what consequences this may have for themselves and society.

Other resources

In addition to the two specific teaching presentations, the material includes a number of other resources. The resources can be used independently or as a supplement to the above teaching presentations. Reflection questions are included for several of the resources. Get an overview of them here.

• Interactive article
• Video: What is Artificial Intelligence?
• Video: Researcher answers questions about artificial intelligence
• Essay: A future of artificial intelligence?
• Artificial Intelligence Conversation Cards
  • What vulnerabilities do you fear artificial intelligence could exploit?
  • Where do language models like ChatGPT get their information from?
  • What ability is important to have in the encounter with artificial intelligence?

The material was developed in collaboration between ChekDet and the educational portal Tenk, which is run by the Norwegian fact-checking media Fakta.no.

Read more about the material on the website here.