"How can we learn and use AI at the same time?": Participatory Design of GenAI with High School Students

TL;DR

This study engaged high school students in participatory design to understand their perspectives on GenAI, leading to guidelines for responsible integration and highlighting the importance of student voices in AI policy development.

Contribution

It introduces a participatory design approach with high school students to inform GenAI tool development and policy guidelines in educational settings.

Findings

Students identified key challenges like bias, misinformation, and plagiarism.

Students proposed features and policies for responsible AI use in schools.

Guidelines for AI developers and policymakers were formulated based on student input.

Abstract

As generative AI (GenAI) emerges as a transformative force, clear understanding of high school students' perspectives is essential for GenAI's meaningful integration in high school environments. In this work, we draw insights from a participatory design workshop where we engaged 17 high school students -- a group rarely involved in prior research in this area -- through the design of novel GenAI tools and school policies addressing their key concerns. Students identified challenges and developed solutions outlining their ideal features in GenAI tools, appropriate school use, and regulations. These centered around the problem spaces of combating bias & misinformation, tackling crime & plagiarism, preventing over-reliance on AI, and handling false accusations of academic dishonesty. Building on our participants' underrepresented perspectives, we propose new guidelines targeted at educational technology designers for development of GenAI technologies in high schools. We also argue for further incorporation of student voices in development of AI policies in their schools.