Five-year old pupils could be learning about AI in Irish schools if an innovative AI curriculum, created by an Irish start-up, was adopted by the Irish education system.
Eblana Learning’s AI Curriculum for International Schools was developed by the Dublin-based company and is being used at international schools across the world.
But an independent review says it “could be used by other schools in the K-12 sector”. K-12 refers to the equivalent of the Irish primary and second-level system. It also said that the AIcurriculum for international schools is one-of-a-kind and has created a strong framework for AI education in schools.
The Learnovate Centre — a global research and innovation centre in the future of work and learning — at Trinity College Dublin carried out independent research on the curriculum finding that Eblana had “first-mover” advantage in the sector with few – if any – comparable offerings currently available.
It also found that the curriculum offered a strong, coherent and distinctive framework for AI education for K-12 with robust ethical framing.
The review said that the curriculum’s sequence of the units of learning, which start from age five right up to age 18, followed a “clear learning pathway” and “thoughtful progression” from using play with younger children to analysis and reflection with the older learners. The approach with older children supports analytical writing, debate and reasoning, helping students engage critically and creatively with the role of AI in society.
It said the curriculum took an “active learning approach that engages learners directly in the learning process rather than having them passively receive information”.
“It differs from more traditional approaches to learning in that, instead of focusing directly on the right answer, students begin by asking questions before working through a range of scenarios to build the required level of knowledge and understanding. Overall, the curriculum presents a coherent and robust learning pathway with relatively few gaps and overlaps,” the Learnovate report reads.
Eblana Learning’s AI curriculum for international schools has content that is broken down into bite-size units or ‘blocks’ and is designed to allow for it to be continuously updated.
The curriculum is supported by the Eblana AI Academy, which provides structured professional learning for every member of the school community including teachers, parents, board members and those working in admin.
The full report is available from Eblana Learning at https://eblanalearning.com/independent-review-trinity-college-dublin
Learnovate Head of Research, Innovation and Technology Eric Paquin says:
“AI education is still an emerging field but it will become an essential part of preparing young people for the future. Schools need programmes that are educationally robust, ethically grounded and practical to implement. The Irish education system needs to look at how it can implement AI into the curriculum to ensure our students of today are prepared for the workplaces of the future.”
Eblana Learning co-founder Rita Bateson said:
“This independent report is a strong endorsement of the work we are doing to help schools respond to AI with clarity, confidence and purpose. We created Eblana Learning to give schools a complete, future-ready approach to AI education, and we are delighted that the report recognises the quality of the curriculum.
“We are delighted to have the acknowledgment that the Eblana AI curriculum supports schools through its rigour and flexibility to ensure students are future-ready, conscious consumers of AI but with human values at the heart of their education.”