Many educators are asking what artificial intelligence can do to support them or students in the classroom. But those at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation’s Electronic Conference on Teaching Statistics (eCOTS) Regional Conference asked a much rarer question of the trendy technology: How can artificial intelligence (AI) help cultivate wonder?

Researchers from the Hub for Innovation and Research in Statistics and Data Science Education (HI-RiSE) team at the Friday Institute and its partners gathered K-12 educators, higher education faculty and researchers from across North Carolina June 16 to explore how using AI in statistics and data science education can deepen, not replace, student curiosity. This conference was one of six in-person regional meetings hosted around the country to coincide with the Consortium for the Advancement of Undergraduate Statistics Education’s virtual eCOTS event.

“Statistics, data science and AI all begin with curiosity and wonder: Why is this happening? What patterns exist? What can data tell us? In North Carolina, students are entering a world where AI and data increasingly influence decisions in healthcare, agriculture, business, education and public policy,” said Emily Thrasher, research scholar at the Friday Institute. “Cultivating wonder helps learners become thoughtful question askers, critical thinkers and informed decision-makers. When students are genuinely curious, they are more likely to engage deeply with data, challenge assumptions and use AI responsibly.”

During the conference through keynote sessions, interactive workshops and conversations between sessions, educators emphasized the power of AI to expand data, deepen wonder and ask more questions of the world around them.

AI Expands Curiosity

The day began with a keynote speech from Taylor Gibson, instructor of mathematics at the NC School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) and executive director of the Ryden Program in Innovation and Leadership in AI at NCSSM, who set the tone for cultivating wonder through statistics and taking investigations further using AI as a tool. Gibson introduced an accessible three-step framework designed to demystify complex statistical concepts for student populations through the power of simulation. He began with tactile activities based on a study of penguin tracking to conduct simulation-based inferences and then used AI to conduct hundreds more simulations.

“You can have this tactile response, that built-in intuition, that then AI can help you build these tools to further that and go deeper, which I think [is where] the wonder comes in,” said Gibson. “You start to wonder about some things as you are manually simulating, but you can never get enough data with this really tactile response. You can find really important takeaways from the set of data that you’re working with that, without the statistics or the AI tools there to help you, you’re never gonna get there. So you kind of have to cultivate that wonder about, I wonder how I can do this, or it’s even just really detecting the tools.”

AI facilitates curiosity, letting us investigate deeper than we ever could, better understand the world around us, identify patterns and make sense of complex issues that affect our world. It removes barriers that currently existed and lets us explore beyond what was ever possible.

“Generative AI becomes a tool to expand wonder,” said Mahmoud Harding, instructional design director at Data Science 4 Everyone. “I have thoughts. I have conjectures. I investigate them. I reach an impasse where I don’t have content knowledge or skills digitally to expand it. Now I use generative AI to help me expand.”

Learning is Still Human

AI can make learning richer when grounded in stories, hands-on experiences and relationships. NC State College of Education Professor Meghan Manfra, emphasized the importance of centering humans and their stories in teaching and technology use during her presentation “Storytelling and Participatory Approaches to Cultivating Wonder in the Age of AI.” 

“How do we keep this human? And one of the ways we keep it human is by thinking about those stories that are behind the statistics. We know that stories stick,” said Manfra.

She says that good stories allow people to learn, connect and be inspired. Stories build connections among people and between people and ideas. They help learners of all types connect to words, pictures or emotions from data or new pieces of information. In a world increasingly shaped by AI, a tool that can easily find patterns in data, it is even more important for students of statistics and data science to ask better questions about the people and the stories behind the data—something AI cannot do.

“Instead of asking what AI can do, we want to ask what problem are we trying to solve?” said Manfra. “So, I sometimes say AI is not the solution, it’s the question, right? What do we really want to hone in on, and how can we use these tools?”

“Human wonder drives this process,” said Taryn Shelton, K-12 data science coordinator at the Data Science and AI Academy at NC State. “Students need to understand that they drive the investigation. They bring context and local knowledge, they ask the questions and they decide what is worth exploring. As AI becomes more capable of handling technical tasks, cultivating wonder becomes even more important because curiosity, judgment and purpose remain uniquely human contributions to the investigation.”

Partnerships Turn Ideas Into Practice

Another goal of the conference was to intentionally bring together those in the statistics and data science community to learn from one another and build a stronger statewide network. 

“No single organization can do this work alone,” said Shelton. “Partnerships between teachers, researchers and other education stakeholders allow collaboration around a shared vision where everyone has a voice, leading to meaningful progress. These partnerships can connect research and classroom practice, shape professional development and create authentic stats and data science learning experiences for students. Through these conversations, we can collectively navigate how to teach students to use AI effectively and responsibly while still supporting their cognitive development and critical thinking skills. By working together, we can build a stronger and more coherent statistics, data science and AI ed ecosystem.”

The Friday Institute has brought together students, teachers, researchers, policymakers and educational professionals for the last two decades to foster collaborations that improve education. With a national reputation for leading multi-partner engagement, it has a proven track record of convening state and national leaders and facilitating high-impact collaborations.

Rather than presenting AI as either a solution or a threat, the conference challenged educators to view it as another tool that can help students ask better questions. By combining thoughtful technology integration with human wonder, educators are helping ensure that curiosity remains at the center of learning.

“I hope participants leave with a deeper appreciation for the power of curiosity in statistics, data science and AI,” said Thrasher. “These fields are often viewed as technical disciplines, but at their core they are about asking questions, exploring ideas and making sense of the world. If attendees leave feeling inspired to continue asking questions and learning alongside others, I would consider the event a success.”