Teaching artificial intelligence in extracurricular contexts through narrative-based learnersourcing

Abstract

Collaborative technology provides powerful opportunities to engage young people in active learning experiences that are inclusive, immersive, and personally meaningful. In particular, interactive narratives have proven to be effective scaffolds for learning, and learnersourcing has emerged as a promising student-driven approach to enable personalized education and quality control at-scale. We introduce the first synthesis of these ideas in the context of teaching artificial intelligence (AI), which is now seen as a critical component of 21st-century education. Specifically, we explore the design of a narrative-based learnersourcing platform where engagement is centered around a learner-made choose-your-own-adventure story. In grounding our approach, we draw from pedagogical literature, digital storytelling, and recent work on learnersourcing. We report on our iterative, learner-centered design process as well as our study findings that demonstrate the platform's positive effects on knowledge gains, interest in AI concepts, and the overall user experience of narrative-based learnersourcing technology.