Capability, confidence and perceptions of AI, CS and STEM in students and teachers who undertake Day of AI Australia’s curriculum

Day of AI Australia is a free classroom program for Australian teachers and students in years 5-10 that provides foundational AI literacy. In an increasingly AI-powered world, understanding what AI is, how it works, its risks and benefits is vital for Australia students and their teachers. 

Day of AI Australia partners with UNSW’s School of Computer Science and Engineering to provide a tailored, curriculum-aligned, ready-to-use classroom program. Day of AI is a full day of lessons designed to be taught by any teacher. Lessons cover What AI is, How it works, How machines create things, the ethics of AI and AI in different industries and careers.

Teachers who deliver Day of AI are surveyed on their experience teaching the lessons, as well as their perceptions of AI, their role in helping guide students, and their perception of skills and confidence uplift for both themselves and their students. Questions include:

• Teacher level of knowledge/confidence pre- and post- activities
• Teacher level of optimisms about the potential benefits of artificial intelligence to society pre- and post-
• Teacher belief that they can contribute to shaping the future of AI literacy
• Teacher rating of how well the program delivered on specific learning outcomes
• Teacher’s rating of whether the program impacted their students’ interest in STEM, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
• Teacher’s rating of whether the program impacted their students’ perspectives that STEM and/or Computer Science is for girls
• Teacher’s rating of their students’ level of knowledge pre- and post- 
• Teacher’s rating of their students’ level of confidence pre- and post- 

This project seeks to evaluate the impact of the Day of AI Program on Australian School Kids, and includes qualitative and quantitative analyses of pre-collected data from over 50 teacher participants in the 2024 offering.