Responding to Generative AI Technologies with Research-through-Design: The Ryelands AI Lab as an Exploratory Study

TL;DR

This paper explores how a constructionist curriculum using Research-through-Design can develop students' practical and critical skills in interacting with generative AI, providing guidance for education and HCI design.

Contribution

It introduces a novel constructionist, research-through-design approach to AI education, emphasizing critical responsivity and rapid response to technological change.

Findings

Hands-on approach fosters practical and critical competencies

Curriculum design offers guidance for AI education

Research-through-Design acts as a rapid response methodology

Abstract

Generative AI technologies demand new practical and critical competencies, which call on design to respond to and foster these. We present an exploratory study guided by Research-through-Design, in which we partnered with a primary school to develop a constructionist curriculum centered on students interacting with a generative AI technology. We provide a detailed account of the design of and outputs from the curriculum and learning materials, finding centrally that the reflexive and prolonged `hands-on' approach led to a co-development of students' practical and critical competencies. From the study, we contribute guidance for designing constructionist approaches to generative AI technology education; further arguing to do so with `critical responsivity.' We then discuss how HCI researchers may leverage constructionist strategies in designing interactions with generative AI technologies; and suggest that Research-through-Design can play an important role as a `rapid response methodology' capable of reacting to fast-evolving, disruptive technologies such as generative AI.