Advancing AI Literacy Lessons

Behind the Numbers: How Data Shapes AI Decisions

Technology Applications | 6-8
Duration: 70 minutes
Author: Jennifer Simmons, CTE Teacher

In this hands-on lesson, students will explore how artificial intelligence systems rely on data to make decisions—and how that data can reflect real-world biases. Through collaborative activities, students will input and visualize a dataset using spreadsheet tools, then analyze patterns to uncover disparities in AI accuracy across demographic groups. This lesson builds foundational skills in data literacy and visualization while prompting students to question the fairness of AI systems.

Lesson Plan Series

Lesson Objectives

Recognize how bias can appear in AI systems, particularly in facial recognition technologies.
Interpret a simple dataset and identify disparities in AI accuracy across demographic groups.
Construct basic data visualizations (bar and pie charts) using spreadsheet tools to represent patterns in AI performance.
Analyze visualized data to draw conclusions about fairness and representation in AI systems.
Reflect on the ethical implications of biased data in real-world AI applications.