Exploring the Potential of Artificial Intelligence in Early Childhood Education

This groundbreaking text explores the intersection of AI and early childhood education, revealing innovative ways for educators to transform learning experiences for young minds. Drawing on insights from experts, real-world examples, and best practices, this edited collection explores the ways AI can be integrated into early childhood curricula, highlighting recent research and innovations in the field, and implications for both practice and policy. The book features case studies that support readers in considering ethical dilemmas and societal implications for early childhood educators, while also looking at all the positive outcomes of AI in early childhood contexts, including adaptive learning platforms that cater to each child's unique style, interactive tools that ignite curiosity, and AI-powered assessments that provide timely feedback. Exploring the Potential of Artificial Intelligence in Early Childhood Education: New Learning Experiences for Young Children is an essential resource for any academic, practitioner, preservice teacher, or parent beginning to understand how AI, as an integral part of our daily lives, is now becoming more relevant and useful across the early childhood years.

Lynn E. Cohen, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Long Island University. She received the Newton Award for Excellence in Teaching from Long Island University in 2017. Dr. Cohen is co-editor of Theories of Early Childhood Education: Developmental, Behaviorist, and Critical (Routledge, 2023) and STEM in Early Childhood Education: How Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Strengthen Learning (Routledge, 2017). She is a contributor to numerous national and international journals, and has given papers at over 70 conferences, including keynote addresses. Dr. Cohen serves on several advisory boards and is currently a member of the editorial board of Dialogic Pedagogy Journal: An International Online Journal and the International Early Childhood Research Journal.

PART 1: Introducing Artificial Intelligence in Early Childhood 1. Bringing AI into Early Childhood - Challenges, Strengths and Activities 2. AI and the Early Childhood Administrator PART 2: Integrating AI into Early Childhood Curriculum 4. The Use of AI Robotic Toys (IoToys) to Support Learning and Play 5. Integrating Generative Artificial Intelligent (GenAI) for Leveraging Early Literacy Instruction: A High-Leverage-Teaching-Practice (HLTP) Approach PART 3: Engaging Early Childhood Students in Playful Hands-On Applications with Artificial Intelligence 7. Using Social Robots to Teach AI to Preschool Children 8. Thinking with KIBO. An Early Childhood Introduction to Artificial Intelligence 9. Teaching Fundamentals of AI Using Bee-bot Floor Robots