Explore the Curriculum

AI Literacy: Thinking with the Machines

Teacher Training + Classroom Materials
Artificial intelligence, deep learning, machine learning — whatever you’re doing, if you
don’t understand it — learn it. Because otherwise, you’re going to be a dinosaur within
three years. - Mark Cuban

There is enormous demand from educators to learn how to use AI effectively in their
classroom. Existing courses are either policy guidelines or low-level pedagogies related to
avoiding student cheating that do not address deep AI Literacy.

Course Description: This course is intended as a solid development of AI Literacy for

teachers of all disciplines and their students.

To use an analogy, you need to know how to drive a car safely, use your seat belt, follow
road signs, follow a maintenance schedule, maybe even change your own tire, but you
don’t need to become a mechanic!

Thus, the focus is on:

● Learning by doing, via a variety of prompts in inquiry and project modes.
● Didactic learning for the overall essential content
● Quarterly refreshing of the course to keep up with AI developments

Teacher Training Duration: Approximately 20 hours, on-demand, completed at the

teacher’s own pace, weekly office hours, and additional support from CCR’s AI Teacher
Network via Slack. Start and finish on your own schedule - no fixed cohorts or deadlines.

Target Teacher Population: All grade 8-10 teachers of ANY discipline

Student Curriculum Duration: Approximately 40 hours, 8 weeks of classroom instruction

and assessment

Target Student Population: All students in grades 8-10

For More Information: https://4dedu.org/ai-literacy-course/

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Student Curriculum Details
CCR’s AI Literacy course incorporates its renowned Four-Dimensional (4D) Framework,
integrating each of the four dimensions critical for learning in an age of AI - Knowledge,
and the three competencies: Skills, Character, and Meta-Learning - throughout the student
curriculum. By focusing on essential content and core concepts, the most relevant
competencies, and tying everything together through interdisciplinary student projects,
CCR’s AI Literacy Course is more effective and relevant.

Essential Content
● Description of types and uses of modern AI & Machine Learning
○ Comparison of Machine Learning to Generative AI/Large Language Models
(LLMs)
○ Exploration and use of chatbots, compare and contrast their quality
○ Human prompting vs. automated prompting
● Capabilities of Generative AI - “Technology as an amplifier”
○ Research
○ Text writing & editing
○ Image & design creation
○ Audio and video generation & editing
● Exploration of future capabilities - “continuous improvement”

Core Concepts
● Garbage In/Garbage Out: Computers do what they are programmed to do. Most
computer errors are the result of human errors in data, design, or programming
● Human Experience: The success or failure of a technology depends on how users
interact with it and perceive its success

Competencies
● Critical Thinking
● Ethics
● Metacognition

Interdisciplinarity via Student Projects

● Project 1: Explore the Ethics of Machine Learning Innovations in Industry
● Project 2: Using AI Optimally and Responsibly

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 AI Literacy: Thinking with the Machines

Unit 1: Intro to AI and Machine Learning Unit 2: Using Generative AI

Lessons 1.1 - Project: Explore the Ethics of Lessons 2.1 - Project: Using AI Optimally
1.6 Machine Learning 2.6 and Responsibly
Innovations in Industry

Competencies: Critical Thinking, Ethics, and Metacognition

Teacher Training - for ALL Educators

CCR offers comprehensive teacher training for both novice and expert teachers.

Training for this course is a 20-hour program of asynchronous work with weekly virtual
office hours and Slack community. It is flexible and self-paced, covering the why, what,
and how of AI.

You will develop optimal strategies and best practices for prompt engineering
● Learn-by-doing: Develop prompt engineering strategies in all disciplines
● Modify your teaching with AI: A case study on essay writing instruction

All course materials will be delivered in English.

Teacher Materials
All AI Literacy course materials will be available electronically.
● Course Curriculum & Teacher’s Guide: Full course and lesson planning, course
objectives and details, teacher prep, and comprehensive support for whole class
direction instruction, projects, student activities, and assessments
● Student “Book”: Learner agency & purpose oriented – worksheets, unit projects,
and self-assessments
● Teacher Training: Courses delivered via Open edX
○ Training modules align with student curriculum
■ “A” Lessons cover content and concepts
■ “B” Lessons cover teaching strategies and competencies
○ Instruction and support for delivery of student course
○ Provide guidance for selecting and managing materials and resources
○ Course experience may be applied to continuing education hours and can earn
CCR teacher certification where applicable.

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 ● Teacher Support:
○ Robust Teacher’s Guide, including detailed unit and lesson plans
○ Assessments and evaluation
○ Slide presentations for each lesson
○ Weekly “Office Hours” via Zoom
○ Ongoing support from CCR’s AI Teacher Network via Slack

FAQs
Questions About the Teacher Training Course
Do participants need a computer science background?

No. This all-encompassing course will train teachers in any discipline to successfully
teach the student curriculum, as well as develop mastery of AI tools to help teachers in all
aspects of their educator experience.

What is the format of the teacher course?

The 20-hour teacher training is online, on-demand, and asynchronous. You can enroll
whenever you want, and you can complete it as quickly or slowly as you’d like.

What if we have questions while completing the teacher course?

You will have several options depending on the type of question. You can attend weekly
“office hours” to get your questions answered, hear about new aspects of AI, and
collaborate with other AI teaching colleagues. You can ask other members of CCR’s Slack
community. And, of course, you can contact our experts at any time.

This is a quickly evolving topic. What are your plans for keeping the course current and
relevant?

CCR will review and update the teacher training and classroom materials quarterly at a
minimum. When major shifts in AI occur during a school year, new materials will be made
available to the CCR educator community.

© 2024 4D Education for Center for Curriculum Redesign, Inc. All Rights Reserved v11222024
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Can I get CEU or PD credits for this course?

After you complete the course and survey, you will be awarded with a Certificate of
Completion to state your accomplishment.

Although CCR does not issue PD or CEU credits yet, we encourage you to check with your
state or district office to see if AI Literacy: Thinking with the Machines qualifies for either
and to ensure that you meet all criteria to receive credit from completing coursework.

Questions About the Student Course

What grade level is this course most appropriate for?

We designed this course for students in grades 8-10 for any discipline.

Do students need any prerequisite knowledge before taking this course?

No. There are no prerequisites.

Is this a general digital literacy course?

No. CCR offers a comprehensive digital literacy course through its Computer Science
Curriculum (CS-1).1 This course focuses specifically on AI literacy, which is a part of
general digital literacy.

How long will this course take in a typical school calendar?

The course was designed to be taught for one (1) hour per day, or five (5) hours a week,
over the span of eight (8) weeks for a total of 40 hours of instruction, or approximately
one (1) quarter of the school year.

Is the student curriculum an online/virtual course, or will it work in traditional

classrooms?

While all the materials are available electronically, the student classroom curriculum was
designed for a traditional, in-person school setting.

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1
https://4dedu.org/computer-science/curriculum/

© 2024 4D Education for Center for Curriculum Redesign, Inc. All Rights Reserved v11222024
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