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Teenagers and Artificial Intelligence: Bootcamp Experience and Lessons Learned

Project Overview

The document explores the implementation of a three-day AI bootcamp for high school students, emphasizing the necessity of incorporating AI education into school curricula. It aimed to equip students with fundamental knowledge in artificial intelligence, including learning agents and AI ethics. Feedback from participants revealed high satisfaction levels and marked enhancements in their comprehension of AI concepts and programming skills. However, challenges emerged regarding the usability of the coding interface and the depth of the content presented. These findings highlight the critical need for more engaging and accessible AI educational resources for teenagers, suggesting that while the bootcamp was effective in improving students' understanding, further refinements are essential to optimize the learning experience and address existing barriers in AI education.

Key Applications

AI Bootcamp for high school students

Context: Cohort of 60 high school students aged 14-19, delivered in summer 2023

Implementation: A three-day bootcamp combining in-person instruction and online platform materials, using diverse modalities like videos, slides, playgrounds, and quizzes.

Outcomes: 91.4% satisfaction rate, 88.5% improved understanding of AI concepts, and 71.4% improved programming skills.

Challenges: Challenges included the use of Google Colab notebooks for coding, which many students found difficult.

Implementation Barriers

Technical Barrier

Students faced challenges using Google Colab notebooks for coding assignments, including running code cells and troubleshooting errors.

Proposed Solutions: Consideration of a more suitable coding interface for teaching AI and programming to teenagers.

Curriculum Design Challenge

The length and depth of the bootcamp were challenging for students, with suggestions to increase the number of days and reduce hours per day.

Proposed Solutions: Future bootcamps may need to adjust the duration and pacing of instruction.

Project Team

Uzay Macar

Researcher

Blake Castleman

Researcher

Noah Mauchly

Researcher

Michael Jiang

Researcher

Asma Aouissi

Researcher

Salma Aouissi

Researcher

Xena Maayah

Researcher

Kaan Erdem

Researcher

Rohith Ravindranath

Researcher

Andrea Clark-Sevilla

Researcher

Ansaf Salleb-Aouissi

Researcher

Contact Information

For information about the paper, please contact the authors.

Authors: Uzay Macar, Blake Castleman, Noah Mauchly, Michael Jiang, Asma Aouissi, Salma Aouissi, Xena Maayah, Kaan Erdem, Rohith Ravindranath, Andrea Clark-Sevilla, Ansaf Salleb-Aouissi

Source Publication: View Original PaperLink opens in a new window

Project Contact: Dr. Jianhua Yang

LLM Model Version: gpt-4o-mini-2024-07-18

Analysis Provider: Openai

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