How to Teach AI Literacy in BC's K-12 Schools

I've been an advocate for teaching AI literacy for awhile now. At first, I suggested it should be taught as its own stand alone class or even an addendum to the existing Career Life Education 10 course. But more recently, I've called for AI literacy to be deeply embedded into BC's existing K-12 curricula rather than it being a grafted on extra.

So what might AI literacy look like in BC's classrooms?

Using Google's Notebook LM, I explored the intersection of the BC Ministry of Education's "Considerations for Using AI Tools in K-12 Schools," the OECD's AI Literacy Framework, and UNESCO's "AI Competency Framework for Students" to create a list of ten essential AI competencies as a starting point for an AI literacy curriculum (See images below).

I linked each of those ten AI competencies to BC's Core Competencies: Critical & Creative Thinking, Communication, and Personal & Social Awareness. Again, I wanted this AI literacy curriculum to smoothly align with BC's Revised Curriculum to ease its adoption. Developing these core competencies is a requisite step to our students becoming educated citizens—so, too, is the procurement of AI competencies. The OECD agrees with that point, as evidenced by their plan to assess AI literacy a part of their 2029 PISA testing. 

If we, as a BC school system, wish to prepare our students for both future PISA testing, and—life beyond the K-12 system, we should install a formalized curriculum that aids in the endeavour. I envision a spiraling curriculum (See diagram below) where students are introduced and reintroduced to those ten AI competencies in developmentally appropriate intervals. Throughout students' elementary years, they'd encounter simplified versions of those AI competencies that they'd eventually delve deeper into during their middle and secondary schooling.

For instance, here's a spiral-curriculum progression I prompted ChatGPT to create for the fifth AI Competency (Students can analyze how AI can perpetuate societal biases):

In Grade 3 Social Studies, students explore fairness by learning how computers can copy unfair patterns from the examples they’re given. By Grade 9, they investigate how algorithms and media platforms can advantage some groups while marginalizing others, connecting technology to power and representation. By Grade 12, students critically analyze real-world cases—such as biased hiring or policing algorithms—and propose policy or design solutions to reduce harm. Across the spiral, students move from noticing bias to analyzing its social effects to taking informed action, aligning naturally with BC’s inquiry-based Social Studies curriculum.

Here's another ChatGPT generated spiral-curriculum progression for the tenth AI Competency (Students can recognize the environmental cost of AI systems):

In Grade 5 Science, students first recognize that digital technologies, including AI, rely on physical systems that consume energy, connecting everyday device use to real-world environmental effects. By Grade 9, they begin analyzing how AI training and data storage demand significant energy, weighing the benefits of innovation against its sustainability costs. Finally, in Environmental Science 12, students critically evaluate AI’s full ecological footprint—from hardware production to carbon emissions—and propose strategies for “green AI” development. This progression moves from awareness to analysis to action, reinforcing how responsible AI use is essential to environmental stewardship.

Regarding next steps, I would encourage our Ministry of Education look at mandating AI literacy into the courses where it fits most naturally. By doing so, all BC students would be guaranteed to develop AI literacy skills regardless of which district they happen to be a student in. Also, having specific AI competencies matched with designated courses would prove more conducive for teacher collaboration, resource development, and targeted professional development. All of which would help BC students become educated citizens in this AI driven world.