Could good old-fashioned storytelling help adult learners better understand science? A new study by the University of Phoenix looked at how AI helped students better absorb more difficult scientific concepts.
Researchers took a character-driven, storybook approach to help teach the Principles of Environmental Science, an entry level course there.
Jacqueline Kelly is the associate dean at the school’s College of General Studies.
“We have our character Waverly Water, and we used AI to help us understand what a potential lived experience of a water molecule could be so that we could understand how to present that to students in narrative story format,” she said
The study found that 87% of students enjoyed what was created using AI.
“By assigning those human characteristics, experiences and traits to that, we can create a really rich character that can then be identified with and we can use to support us with storytelling of scientific concepts.”
Kelly said this kind of instruction helped students communicate scientific ideas more clearly.
