How to Playfully Teach AI to Young Learners: a Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Children are experiencing Artificial Intelligence (AI) devices in their daily lives. It is crucial to provide them with knowledge concerning how AI works, for enabling them to use AI responsibly and participate actively in their AI-driven future. To support motivation and engagement, playful tools are often used in technology education for K-12 children. This paper offers a systematic literature review of tools for teaching AI to K-12 learners in a playful manner. The most relevant articles are classified and analysed in terms of the nature of the tools they use, that is, whether tools are digital, partly physical and partly digital, or unplugged. Their analysis also considers the target age, the educational focus, and whether their impact is evaluated. According to the results of the review, there are tools for learners of all school grades, and digital tools are the most investigated. Moreover, several studies with tools tend to evaluate engagement and learning but in different manners. The paper concludes by discussing the evaluation aspect, general future work directions and limitations in relation to HCI and education for children.