2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

From Prompt to Practice: Leveraging Generative AI in Undergraduate Creation of K12 Teaching Resources

Presented at Computers in Education (CoED): Learning, Engagement & Inclusion (5 of 9) -- T308B

Generative AI (GenAI) tools have the potential to support K12 educators by automating the creation of instructional materials, including lesson plans, instructional videos, and educational games. Despite their growing accessibility, the use of GenAI in K12 education remains largely underexplored. Even less examined is how undergraduate students experience the process of designing AI-generated instructional materials and how these experiences shape their understanding of AI and its educational applications. This work is grounded in the context of ITCS 3050: AI Literacy and CT for K12, an undergraduate course in which students use GenAI tools to design and refine K12 teaching materials.

The course serves as a testbed for exploring three central research questions: (1) How do students frame their experiences developing K12 teaching materials? (2) What growth do students report in their understanding of AI literacy after engaging in the design of GenAI-generated K12 teaching resources? and (3) What difficulties do students experience in learning to use GenAI for instructional design? Framed as a co-design process, the course engages students as active contributors in the development of AI-generated educational content.

This paper focuses specifically on a thematic analysis of undergraduate student reflections to examine how students make sense of their experiences designing with GenAI and how these experiences shape their understanding of AI and its role in education. Our findings highlight key themes related to students’ evolving conceptions of AI, their perceptions of GenAI’s capabilities and limitations, and the challenges they encountered when designing for K12 audiences. The collection and analysis of feedback from K12 teachers on student-created materials is an ongoing component of the broader project and is not included in this paper; this will be reported on in future work.

Authors

Mrs. Madison Melton University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Madison Melton is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research focuses on generative AI, computer science education, and AI education in K12. In Fall 2024, she completed her qualifying exam, which examined how predictive AI and generative AI are shaping modern education. She successfully defended her dissertation proposal in April 2026 and expects to complete her dissertation in April 2027.

Her dissertation investigates a multi-level intervention framework that engages undergraduate students, K12 teachers, and K12 students in the design, evaluation, and implementation of generative AI–supported instructional materials. Centered on an undergraduate course, her work examines how students develop AI literacy through artifact creation, how teachers evaluate the quality and classroom readiness of AI-generated materials, and how these materials function in authentic K12 classroom settings.
Dr. Mohsen M Dorodchi http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7522-1068 University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Dr. Dorodchi has been teaching in the field of computing for over 35 years of which 25 years as educator. He has taught majority of the courses in the computer science and engineering curriculum over the past 25 years .
Audrey Rorrer http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0600-6545 University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Audrey Rorrer, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department at UNC Charlotte, where she also serves as Assistant Director of the Center for Education Innovation & Research. Dr. Rorrer’s scholarship areas include the science of broadening participation in computing, SoBP, which is a recognized domain of critical importance in STEM workforce development and educational programming. Her work has focused on educational programs, outreach and collective impact activities that expand the national pipeline into STEM careers. College student development and Faculty career development are central themes across her body of work.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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