AI Made by Youth: A Conversational AI Curriculum for Middle School Summer Camps
Yukyeong Song, Gloria Ashiya Katuka, Joanne Barrett, Xiaoyi Tian, Amit Kumar, Tom McKlin, Mehmet Celepkolu, Kristy Elizabeth Boyer
Abstract
As artificial intelligence permeates our lives through various tools and services, there is an increasing need to consider how to teach young learners about AI in a relevant and engaging way. One way to do so is to leverage familiar and pervasive technologies such as conversational AIs. By learning about conversational AIs, learners are introduced to AI concepts such as computers’ perception of natural language, the need for training datasets, and the design of AI-human interactions. In this experience report, we describe a summer camp curriculum designed for middle school learners composed of general AI lessons, unplugged activities, conversational AI lessons, and project activities in which the campers develop their own conversational agents. The results show that this summer camp experience fostered significant increases in learners’ ability beliefs, willingness to share their learning experience, and intent to persist in AI learning. We conclude with a discussion of how conversational AI can be used as an entry point to K-12 AI education.
BibTeX
@article{Song_Ashiya Katuka_Barrett_Tian_Kumar_McKlin_Celepkolu_Boyer_Israel_2024, title={AI Made by Youth: A Conversational AI Curriculum for Middle School Summer Camps}, volume={37}, url={https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/AAAI/article/view/26882}, DOI={10.1609/aaai.v37i13.26882}, abstractNote={As artificial intelligence permeates our lives through various tools and services, there is an increasing need to consider how to teach young learners about AI in a relevant and engaging way. One way to do so is to leverage familiar and pervasive technologies such as conversational AIs. By learning about conversational AIs, learners are introduced to AI concepts such as computers’ perception of natural language, the need for training datasets, and the design of AI-human interactions. In this experience report, we describe a summer camp curriculum designed for middle school learners composed of general AI lessons, unplugged activities, conversational AI lessons, and project activities in which the campers develop their own conversational agents. The results show that this summer camp experience fostered significant increases in learners’ ability beliefs, willingness to share their learning experience, and intent to persist in AI learning. We conclude with a discussion of how conversational AI can be used as an entry point to K-12 AI education.}, number={13}, journal={Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence}, author={Song, Yukyeong and Ashiya Katuka, Gloria and Barrett, Joanne and Tian, Xiaoyi and Kumar, Amit and McKlin, Tom and Celepkolu, Mehmet and Boyer, Kristy Elizabeth and Israel, Maya}, year={2024}, month={Jul.}, pages={15851-15859} }