Year 3 Become AI Explorers!

What is Artificial Intelligence, and how will it shape our future? Year 3 Badgers recently welcomed Amy, Que’s mum, who works at Microsoft, for an exciting, hands-on introduction to the world of AI.

Building on their Computing lessons, where the children had already been learning about AI-generated images and how to tell whether a picture is real or fake, the session encouraged them to look beyond the technology and think about how AI works, where we encounter it in everyday life, and how we can use it responsibly.

The children began by becoming AI detectives! Through an interactive game, they studied examples, spotted patterns and made predictions – discovering that AI learns from large amounts of information before making its own predictions. They then explored how AI is already being used in the world around us, from helping doctors examine X-rays and forecasting the weather to supporting driverless cars and helping scientists discover more about the past.
With dinosaurs and fossils already capturing the children's imaginations through our IPC unit, the session offered a particularly exciting connection to their classroom learning.

The children posed their own curious questions, including whether chickens are dinosaurs and why a T. rex did not topple forwards! They watched AI generate answers and, crucially, learned that even when technology sounds confident, its answers are not always correct. Just like palaeontologists, we need to examine the evidence, ask questions and check our findings.

One of the highlights was putting AI to work as a creative learning partner. The class designed their own virtual Fossil Shop, choosing which fossils to sell and deciding on their prices. Amy then demonstrated how AI could help build a maths game in minutes, giving the children hints as they practised adding across the next ten. The big question was: who did the learning? The answer was a resounding the children! AI provided the tool, but the ideas, decisions and mathematical thinking belonged to them.

As AI becomes an increasingly important part of our world, helping children understand the technology is about much more than learning how to use a computer. It is about developing the critical thinking, creativity and digital awareness they will need for the future. Understanding that images and information can be generated by AI, learning to question what we see online, protecting personal information and knowing when to ask a trusted adult are all essential skills.

The session ended with three important messages: use AI with a grown-up and check the answers; keep personal information private; and use AI to practise and learn, rather than to do the thinking for you.

A huge thank you to Amy for sharing her expertise and helping our young learners approach AI with curiosity, confidence and care. Year 3 left with plenty of new questions – and a powerful reminder that, however clever technology becomes, their own ideas, judgement and imagination remain at the heart of learning!

By Meera Cholera

Year 3 Badgers Class Teacher