Job Description:
POSITION: RAICA Undergraduate Researcher
START DATE: January 8, 2024
END DATE: February 2, 2024
HOURS: 20-40 hr/wk
PAY RATE: $17/hr
RAICA (Responsible AI for Computational Action) is a curriculum design and development research project consisting of project-based learning modules that prepare students to be informed consumers and responsible producers of AI. Students progress through each project applying responsible design thinking, practicing computational thinking, deepening their understanding of AI literacy, and developing computational action by designing and/or implementing AI tools to engage problems or opportunities they care about.
RAICA is a central project within the MIT RAISE group, with PI’s Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, Dr. Hal Abelson, and Dr. Eric Klopfer, executing on the university-wide initiative’s mission to advance equity in learning, education and computational action to rethink and innovate how to holistically and equitably prepare diverse K-12 students to be successful, responsible, and engaged in an increasingly AI-powered society.
During IAP 2024, up to 2 UROPs will work closely with RAICA’s researcher, Dr. Christina Bosch, to support, analyze and report on implementation data collected from educators and learners who are collaborating with the project. The goal for this four-week collaboration with RAICA is to develop empirically-based design principles that could guide iterations of AI curricula involving design thinking.
The UROPs will contribute to the conceptual organizing and digitizing of learning artifacts and hard-copy classroom observation notes, the qualitative (and possibly quantitative) analysis of such data, and will support literature reviews as well as written reports of findings for communication outside of the project team (e.g., via conference proposals and papers, blog posts, and other creative modes of communication). Creative uses of generative AI to support and extend these tasks is encouraged.
Research questions addressed in this work include: How does a sample of learners engage in, acquire, and express responsible design thinking (RDT) (i.e., communication about chosen stakeholders, design values, design impact); computational thinking (CT) (i.e., abstraction, problem solving, pattern recognition, logical reasoning); AI literacy (i.e., identifying, manipulating, and evaluating AI technology and tools); and demonstrate computational action during the course of one RAICA module? How can generative AI support the cycle of empirical testing, revision, and theory generation that defines design-based research?
The final deliverable will be a digitized, collated digitized data set; an internal report of findings, which can contribute to a presentation about the IAP-term project; and contributions to a written conference proposals and presentation. If accepted, the UROP will be invited to present and attend the conference (virtually).
Valued skills & knowledge
We understand that UROP’s are an opportunity to learn and grow new skills, so while we don’t have a set list of required skills, a combination of some of the skills and knowledge listed below are preferred.
- Strong organizational skills
- Excellent reading and writing skills
- Understanding of computational thinking
- Experience with software development and/or AI tools
- Willingness to learn and try new things
Complete this Google form to apply. Application DEADLINE: December 8, 2023