Blogs (5) >>
Fri 28 Feb 2025 11:03 - 11:22 at Meeting Room 406 - Broadening Participation #2

In 2023, we developed and deployed AI-based tools in CS50 at Harvard University to provide students with 24/7 interactive assistance, approximating a 1:1 teacher-to-student ratio. These tools offer code explanations, style suggestions, and responses to course-related inquiries, emulating human educators to foster critical thinking. However, maintaining alignment with instructional goals is challenging, especially with frequent updates to the underlying large language models (LLMs). We thus propose a continuous improvement process for LLM-based systems using a collaborative human-in-the-loop approach. We introduce a systematic evaluation framework for assessing and refining the performance of AI-based tutors, combining human-graded and model-graded evaluations. Using few-shot prompting and fine-tuning, we aim to ensure our AI tools adopt pedagogically sound teaching styles. Fine-tuning with a small, high-quality dataset has shown significant improvements in aligning with teaching goals, as confirmed through multi-turn conversation evaluations. Additionally, our framework includes a model-evaluation backend that teaching assistants periodically review, ensuring the AI system remains effective and aligned with instructional objectives. This paper offers insights into our methods and the impact of these AI tools on CS50 and contributes to the discourse on AI in education, showcasing scalable, personalized learning enhancements.

Fri 28 Feb

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10:45 - 12:00
Broadening Participation #2Papers at Meeting Room 406
10:45
18m
Talk
A Student-Led Association for Computing Education: A Two-Year Experience Report
Papers
Jolie Zhou University of Washington, Yunseo Lee University of Washington, Suh Young Choi University of Washington, Simon Wu University of Washington, Mitchell Levy University of Washington
11:03
18m
Talk
Improving AI in CS1: Leveraging Human Feedback for Better Learning
Papers
Rongxin Liu Harvard University, Julianna Zhao Harvard University, Benjamin Xu Yale University, Christopher Perez Harvard University, Yuliia Zhukovets Harvard University, David J. Malan Harvard University
11:22
18m
Talk
Integrating Socially Responsible Computing through Direct Community Engagement in CS2 to Promote Latinx Student RetentionMSI
Papers
Yu Sun California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Qichao Dong California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Fang Tang California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Leata Hubbard Cheuoua WestEd
11:41
18m
Talk
Exploring Sense of Belonging for CS Majors with Direct vs Competitive Admission Pathways
Papers
Jennifer Campbell University of Toronto, Jacqueline Smith University of Toronto, Emily Greenleaf University of Toronto