$3,969,294 AI Research Institutes

The audience moves to children in school: a renewal built on narrative learning

North Carolina State University North Carolina Started Sep 2026

An award to North Carolina State University renewing an AI institute for K-12 education, obligating about $3.97 million of an estimated $20 million.

Grant overview (primary data)

  • Award amount$3,969,294 / Est. total $20,000,000
  • RecipientNorth Carolina State University (North Carolina)
  • ProgramAI Research Institutes
  • Period2026-09-01 〜 2031-08-31
  • FunderU.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) / NSF

Key points

  • An award to North Carolina State University renewing an AI institute for K-12 education.
  • About $3,969,000 is obligated against an estimated $20 million, or 19.8%, over five years.
  • It builds on narrative-centred learning technologies, collaborative narrative-centred learning and multimodal learning analytics.
  • The new focus is science education and AI literacy, covering in-school and out-of-school settings.

1Inside school and outside it

The previous article was aimed at working adults. This one is aimed at children from kindergarten through high school. The description sets out technologies for AI-enabled learning and teaching in both in-school and out-of-school settings.

Amount obligatedabout $3.97 million19.8% of an estimated $20 million
Period1 September 2026 to 31 August 2031five years, as with the previous institute
Typerenewalbuilding on prior results

2What it is built on

  1. 1Narrative-centred learning technologiesTechnologies that carry learning forward in narrative form
  2. 2Collaborative narrative-centred learningExtended so several learners share a narrative as they learn
  3. 3Multimodal learning analyticsReading the state of learning from text, speech, action and other signals
  4. 4The new focusScience education and AI literacy as the disciplinary emphasis

For a renewal, what it builds on tells you more than what is new. This record names three accumulated strands and then places the next focus on top of them.

3A shape shared by two institutes

The adult-learning institute in the previous article and this one closely resemble each other in scale, duration and the share obligated: 20.7% and 19.8% of their estimated totals, five years each, both starting 1 September 2026. The same framework appears twice, with only the learners it addresses changed.

The series closes with an award that supports the compute researchers themselves use.

Why it matters

AI institute awards divide by audience rather than by technology. Since the audience changes both the technology and the measures, comparisons of results have to hold the audience constant.

FAQ

What does K-12 mean?
The United States term for schooling from kindergarten through the end of high school. This award addresses learning and teaching at that stage.
What are narrative-centred learning technologies?
Technologies that carry learning forward in narrative form, cited as prior work of this institute.
How does this differ from the previous institute?
Scale, duration and the share obligated are very similar. What differs is the learners addressed: here, children in school.

Sources (primary)

Source: NSF Award Search (U.S. National Science Foundation, public domain). Amounts are the obligated amount. For privacy, we do not handle principal investigator names.

#NSF awards#AI institutes#K-12 education#AI literacy#North Carolina
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