Venture-Based mostly Studying in an AI-Impressed Period
Mark Frydenberg on enriching project-based studying with AI instruments
The return to project-based studying, paired with at present’s AI instruments, has created a brand new studying paradigm. Right here, Mark Frydenberg, distinguished lecturer of Laptop Info Techniques and director of the CIS Sandbox at Bentley College explores the candy spot between project-based studying — a time-tested instructing and studying observe — and the most recent in highly effective AI instruments.
Mary Grush: Is there a resurgence of curiosity in project-based studying? If that’s the case, why are we seeing this now?
Mark Frydenberg: Many educators are turning to a project-based studying method of their programs. Venture-based studying places college students within the driver’s seat, difficult them to deal with real-world issues and take possession of their very own studying. In doing so, they design and create their very own initiatives and reveal that they’ve mastered course ideas. Venture-based studying offers college students a narrative to inform, relatively than details to recall.
Venture-based studying offers college students a narrative to inform, relatively than details to recall.
Corporations want to rent college students who’ve information a few explicit topic area that they studied in faculty, however in addition they demand that college students have important expertise in speaking successfully, utilizing know-how to unravel enterprise issues, working in groups, and analyzing data fastidiously. Giving college students alternatives to develop these expertise prepares them for the workplaces they’re about to enter.
On this period of AI, one of many largest pitfalls of AI in schooling is over-reliance. It is tempting to repeat and paste an issue description right into a generative AI device and ask it for an answer. Whereas AI instruments can assist college students take into account totally different views and are nice for brainstorming, initiatives are typically extra open ended and require college students to suppose critically about a number of facets of a posh drawback.
Grush: Does AI affect the design of project-based studying? Conversely, does project-based studying present a richer atmosphere for AI-supported packages?
Frydenberg: A problem for educators at present is to design assignments which are troublesome for AI to finish totally. That is not at all times straightforward. We all know that college students are utilizing AI instruments. One method to take, is to design initiatives for college students that use AI to not acquire an answer, however as a device to supply data that they will additional analyze. We noticed this within the AI hackathon we held shortly after ChatGPT was first launched. Students used AI tools to generate buying and selling methods, after which visualized and refined them utilizing monetary evaluation software program. By adjusting their prompts, they have been in a position to enhance their monetary fashions without having coding experience.
We additionally encourage college students to make use of AI to assist brainstorm, producing concepts. With AI instruments equivalent to Perplexity AI (perplexity.ai), performing a literature assessment that used to take hours will be accomplished in seconds. That frees college students to pay attention extra on analyzing the data that AI gathers for them. The caveat, after all, is that whereas AI instruments are getting higher, they are not excellent. College students are accountable for checking the references or suggestions from AI to ensure they’re legitimate and freed from bias. College students additionally want the data literacy expertise obligatory to find out what different sources won’t have been offered in an AI-based resolution. AI permits college students to make use of their time in a different way — as an alternative of trying up data, they will confirm it and start to kind their very own connections between subjects.
