Opportunity

High school students often lack an awareness of local issues and causes that could benefit them and their community greatly from their active participation. By discussing and opening them up to these opportunities, students gain the chance to make a positive impact in their communities and to develop important skills like leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving.

As part of a high school civics course, students are tasked with finding an issue they could volunteer for and creating a plan to do so. However, students can struggle to come up with ideas and/or may need help in planning and executing a project.

Solution

To address this need, we created an AI Mentor that assists high school students in thinking through the volunteer possibilities and creating a plan for involvement in their communities. The Mentor guides but does not lead the student effort, asking for the student’s ideas and providing feedback in a supportive way. The Mentor suggests potential issues or causes based on the student's interests and provides real examples of how high school students have made a difference on local projects. It encourages the student to discuss various issues and causes and come to a conclusion on which one they would like to contribute to for their project. Once the student lands on an issue, the Mentor helps them create an action plan to achieve what they want to do.

A link to the AI Mentor is here: https://sl.bing.net/fM83sVkcsHk

Impact

Increased awareness among high school students about local issues and needs
Empowering students with skills like leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving

Image result for a diverse group of high school students volunteering

Team

AI Developer
- Developed the AI Mentor and integrated it with the high school civics course curriculum
- Tested and refined the Mentor based on feedback from repeated trials and peer review

AI Mentor Boosts Student Community Involvement