The National Science Foundation (NSF) has launched a free online curriculum to introduce Florida middle schoolers and teachers to artificial intelligence using paleontology.
The program uses fossilized shark teeth to teach students how to collect data, classify objects, and build and evaluate machine learning models – all while students learn to recognize a model’s limitations, said NSF.
“Shark AI takes a novel approach by using AI to teach concepts that are connected to biology, paleontology and the nature of science, while at the same time connecting to computer science education goals as well,” said Bruce MacFadden, professor at the University of Florida (UF) and principal investigator on the project, in a statement.
The optional curriculum consists of five flexible modules aligned with middle school science standards that teachers can integrate into their lesson plans.
Students engage directly with real fossils, a key part of the hands-on learning process. “With Shark AI, students have access to high-quality, real fossils that they can touch and feel,” MacFadden said. “The kids love having that, and so do the teachers.”
To support teachers implementing Shark AI, the program offers professional development and training for participating Florida educators.
“If teachers aren’t given opportunities to learn, they can never bring that knowledge back to their schools,” Seema Naik, a Broward County, Fla., science teacher, said in a statement.
Teachers attend a weeklong summer workshop led by experts and peers who have used the curriculum, which helps to clear up misconceptions about AI and troubleshoot common challenges with the program while sharing best practices.
Shark AI also arranges classroom visits from researchers to connect curriculum to real-world science, technology, engineering, and math careers.
“Going to a class and saying: ‘I am a real scientist, and if you want, you can be too. You are classifying fossils using machine learning tools, and that is exactly what I do as a scientist.’ That is very powerful for teachers, not only for the content support, but also for the science identity that the students might come away with,” MacFadden said.