Exploring the Usage of Generative AI for Group Project-Based Offline Art Courses in Elementary Schools

2025-06-20

AI Summary

Integrating generative AI (GenAI) into K–6 in-person project-based art education faces challenges including students’ difficulty formulating effective queries, risks of misuse, and poor interface suitability for young learners. Method: We designed AskArt—a child-centered interactive tool integrating DALL-E and GPT—to support knowledge acquisition, creative ideation, and personalized guidance. A four-phase field study was conducted with 132 students and two teachers, employing classroom observations, teacher–student interviews, and artifact analysis. Contribution/Results: Findings confirm GenAI significantly enhances student engagement and creative expression; however, query formulation ability emerged as a critical bottleneck. We propose evidence-informed teacher scaffolding strategies, interface design optimizations, and introduce the first scalable, practice-grounded GenAI integration framework specifically for elementary art education—establishing a foundational baseline for future research and implementation.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Game Design — Procedural Content Generation & Storytelling
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Computational Creativity
• Natural Language Processing: Code Generation / Program Synthesis from Natural Language

Application Category

• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Economic ramifications for generative AI infrastructure and applications
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Search Tool Learning with LLM: Teaching LLMs to invoke search and make use of retrieved information
• Social Networks and Social Media: Generative AI / large language models and their impact on social systems

Abstract

The integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in K-6 project-based art courses presents both opportunities and challenges for enhancing creativity, engagement, and group collaboration. This study introduces a four-phase field study, involving in total two experienced K-6 art teachers and 132 students in eight offline course sessions, to investigate the usage and impact of GenAI. Specifically, based on findings in Phases 1 and 2, we developed AskArt, an interactive interface that combines DALL-E and GPT and is tailored to support elementary school students in their art projects, and deployed it in Phases 3 and 4. Our findings revealed the benefits of GenAI in providing background information, inspirations, and personalized guidance. However, challenges in query formulation for generating expected content were also observed. Moreover, students employed varied collaboration strategies, and teachers noted increased engagement alongside concerns regarding misuse and interface suitability. This study offers insights into the effective integration of GenAI in elementary education, presents AskArt as a practical tool, and provides recommendations for educators and researchers to enhance project-based learning with GenAI technologies.

Problem

• Exploring GenAI's role in K-6 art courses for creativity and collaboration
• Developing AskArt to support students in offline project-based art learning
• Assessing GenAI's benefits and challenges in elementary education

Innovation

• Developed AskArt interface for elementary art projects
• Combined DALL-E and GPT for interactive support
• Conducted field study with teachers and students