Getting a Head Start on AI in the Classroom: How the University of Minnesota AI Hub is Supporting PK–12 Education

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the way we learn, work, and interact with the world around us. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life, schools face a critical question: How do we prepare students for a future shaped by technologies that are evolving faster than ever before?

At the University of Minnesota, the AI Hub is helping to answer that question.

As a central connector for artificial intelligence across the University ecosystem, the AI Hub works to connect, coordinate, and amplify AI research, education, industry partnerships, and community engagement. While much of the national conversation around AI focuses on higher education and workforce innovation, the AI Hub recognizes that preparing the next generation of learners must begin long before students reach any postsecondary education.

Across Minnesota, educators, students, school leaders, and community organizations are navigating the realities of an AI-enabled world, including AI literacy, workforce readiness, responsible technology use, and the future of teaching and learning. Through partnerships, professional development opportunities, student programs, and statewide conversations, the AI Hub is helping to build the knowledge - and the connections - vital to support PK–12 education in this ever-changing landscape.

Bringing Communities Together Through Dialogue

One of the AI Hub's most exciting PK–12 challenges in AY 2025-2026 was bringing together voices to help shape the work needing to be done - leading to two collaborations:

In collaboration with Education and Learning with AI (ELAI@UMN) in the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), the AI Hub hosted an initiative focused on Mapping the Conversation Space: Critical Reflections on Learning in the Era of AI. Spearheaded by the Learning Informatics Lab (LIL), a working group was formed within the AI Hub (formerly the DSAI Hub) to create conversational space around AI in education. The working group included a variety of voices, including staff/faculty at UMN, PK-12 school leaders and educators, and students from high school through graduate school. A series of interactive sessions was planned for throughout the academic year, designed to be intergenerational (e.g., undergraduates, graduate students, researchers) and multiperspective (e.g., school teachers, students, college educators, and school district leaders). Each session was built around themes that emerged during the in-person kick-off event in October of 2025. Experts, drawn from the ELAI working group and its network, engaged in a critical conversation about how AI shapes that specific dynamic.
Developed in partnership with World Savvy and Achieve Twin Cities, along with Black Men Teach, Breakthrough Twin Cities, Educators for Excellence, EdAllies, Good Trouble, Greenlight Fund, Project Success, The Sanneh Foundation, Teach For America Twin Cities, the University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota 4-H, Wallin Education Partners, Education in the Age of AI: A Twin Cities Intergenerational Forum for Youth, Educators, and Community Leaders, was held on April 24 at the Machine Shop in Minneapolis. This forum was created in response to a growing need for meaningful conversations about how youth-serving spaces must evolve as AI reshapes learning, work, and civic life. The event brought together more than 100 participants for a dynamic morning that included a gallery walk, panel discussion, intergenerational table conversations, and student share-outs. Youth voices were intentionally placed at the center of the discussion, recognizing that today's students will be among the first generation to enter an AI-shaped economy and society from the beginning of their careers. AI Hub staff were instrumental in the initial planning of the event as well as engaging participants in a fun, interactive gallery walk activity, and participating in the intergenerational table discussions.

Supporting School Leaders as AI Enters the Classroom

As educators and administrators seek guidance on emerging technologies, school leaders are increasingly looking for practical frameworks to help navigate AI adoption.

To support these efforts, the AI Hub and the Learning Informatics Lab (LIL) facilitated a roundtable discussion at the Minnesota School Boards Association (MSBA) Conference, focused on the opportunities and challenges AI presents in K–12 education.

Artificial intelligence is already influencing how students learn, create, and access information. Yet many districts are still determining how AI should fit into classroom instruction, policy development, and district strategy. Through collaborative discussion, school board members and district leaders explored responsible implementation practices, instructional opportunities, district readiness, and the critical questions schools should be asking as AI adoption accelerates.

Rather than prescribing a single approach, the session focused on building shared understanding and equipping leaders with actionable next steps they could bring back to conversations with superintendents, administrators, and educators in their own districts.

Building AI Literacy for Educators

Many educators have received little formal training in generative AI technologies. Recognizing this need, the AI Hub partnered with University Libraries and Academic Technology Support Services (ATSS) to host the Twin Cities K–12 AI & Information Literacy Workshop.

The day-long workshop brought together 20 K–12 media specialists and technology integration specialists from across Minnesota, and was designed with the following outcomes in mind:

Helping educators better understand that AI literacy, which is a newer concept for them, is directly related to information literacy, with which they have been working for years, and working toward building common language for defining AI literacy
Taking time to explore emerging tools and their ethical use
Working through a model policy to gain a deeper understanding of district and school policy considerations
Taking the time to share challenges and share resources

A key takeaway from the workshop was the recognition that AI literacy is fundamentally connected to information literacy. While this seems obvious, media specialists and technology integration specialists were given the time to craft language to help staff in buildings better understand that while AI in education is newer, we can lean into established understandings to better incorporate the use of AI in practice. Educators also emphasized the importance of building stronger connections between PK–12 and postsecondary education as schools continue to navigate rapidly evolving technologies.

By not only focusing on practical classroom applications, but also examining policies aimed at providing a guiding light to the work, the workshop provided educators with tangible strategies, discussion topics, and resources they could bring back to their schools. The structure of the day also reflected the University's land-grant mission by extending expertise beyond campus and fostering meaningful collaboration across Minnesota's educational ecosystem.

Listening and Learning with Educators Across Minnesota

The AI Hub is also helping to shape statewide conversations through participation in professional learning events focused on AI and education.

At the Third Annual AI Thought Leaders Summit, hosted by ISD 742 St. Cloud Area Schools, the AI Hub collaborated with the Learning Informatics Lab (LIL) and faculty from the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) and Northern Lights Collaborative (NLC) to facilitate three sessions for educators and administrators.

The sessions explored practical frameworks for evaluating when, why, and how AI can support existing curricula and learning activities. Participants also examined tensions that have emerged as students engage with learning in the age of AI and discussed strategies for balancing innovation with academic integrity and meaningful learning outcomes.

Perhaps most importantly, the summit created opportunities for direct listening. Educators and administrators shared their needs, challenges, and priorities, helping inform how the University can continue developing resources and support systems that are relevant, accessible, and responsive to schools across the state.

Empowering Secondary Students

While educator training and leadership development are essential, the AI Hub is also investing directly in students.

Each summer, the AI Hub hosts the Under the Hood Summer Program, an immersive two-week experience designed for rising high school juniors and seniors interested in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer science.

The program aims to transform students from technology consumers into technology creators.

Students begin through hands-on learning of Python programming fundamentals and exploring foundational machine learning concepts through real-world datasets, advancing to learning about neural networks, computer vision, and generative AI development, tools, and techniques. Students also engage with the ethical and societal implications of artificial intelligence. By looking under the hood at the "black box" of AI, the program equips students with the mathematical concepts, coding skills, and ethical frameworks needed to navigate—and help shape—the future of technology.

Looking Ahead

The AI Hub's work in PK–12 education reflects a broader commitment to ensuring that AI innovation remains accessible, inclusive, and grounded in real-world impact.

Whether convening community conversations, supporting educators, engaging school leaders, listening to practitioners, or inspiring future innovators, the AI Hub is helping Minnesota build the knowledge, partnerships, and skills necessary to thrive in an AI-enabled future.

This work is only beginning. Building on the momentum of the Intergenerational Forum, educator workshops, statewide summits, and student programming, the AI Hub has a robust slate of initiatives for the 2026-27 academic year to build on the foundational work of the 2025-26 academic year. These concrete plans include:

Launching PK-12 Microcredentials: in collaboration with Northern Lights Collaborative (NLC) and the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), creating a structured system of microcredentials to formally recognize AI competencies for PK-12 staff
Expanding Conference Presence: Facilitating increasing number of targeted sessions at state and local educational conferences to share best practices and resources - and to continue to gain an understanding of the needs of our PK-12 community so we can build resources to support them
Scaling Student Programs: Expanding our hands-on student programming to continue to reach a wider and more diverse cohort of students
Creating a More Unified Path For All Learners: Aligning external PK-12 district initiatives with the ongoing AI literacy research and frameworks at the University.

As the AI Hub continues to expand its work across PK–12 education, higher education, workforce development, and community engagement, we invite students, educators, faculty, staff, industry partners, and community members to stay connected. Subscribe to the AI Hub newsletter to receive updates on new programs, events, resources, research, and opportunities to engage with our growing AI ecosystem. The newsletter is the best way to follow our progress and learn how the University of Minnesota is helping prepare learners, educators, professionals, and communities to thrive in an AI-enabled future.

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AI is continuing to reshape society. Many educators have received little formal training in generative AI technologies. Recognizing this need, the AI Hub partnered with University Libraries and Academic Technology Support Services (ATSS) to host the Twin Cities K–12 AI & Information Literacy Workshop, funded through the Wendy Pradt Lougee fund for LIbraries Innovation. The future of education will depend not only on technology itself, but on how effectively we understand it and prepare people to use it. Through strategic partnerships, community-centered engagement, and a commitment to lifelong learning, the University of Minnesota AI Hub is helping ensure that Minnesota's students, educators, and schools are ready for what comes next.