AI in the Classroom

Does using AI help students learn, or just help them finish faster?

AI in the Classroom is a year-long research project studying how AI use affects undergraduate learning. We’ll run a psychology-style study on real course AI policies, and turn what we find into evidence-based guidance for professors setting policy and for students deciding how to study.

Why

  • No shared rules. Right now, each class sets its own AI policy, from full bans to anything goes.
  • Little hard evidence. Controlled studies of AI and learning are new, and results disagree.
  • Hard to self-judge. Students can’t easily tell whether AI is helping them learn or just helping them finish.

How the study works

  1. Levels: Turn real syllabus AI policies into levels, from no AI to unrestricted.
  2. Task: Participants complete a learning task under an assigned level.
  3. Measure: Time spent, task score, and how much they remember later.

The team finalizes the study design together in Week 2.

Plan

Fall

  • Sort real AI policies into levels
  • Design the study and get ethics approval
  • Begin the lab study

Winter

  • Partner with professors
  • Compare AI policies side by side in real classes

Spring

  • Analyze results and write the paper
  • Present our findings and recommendations to UCLA
  • Publish recommendations

Who it’s for

  • CS majors early in the program
  • Psychology, cognitive science, and education majors interested in AI
  • Anyone who wants hands-on research experience

No technical background needed.

Commitment

  • Year-long project, running fall through spring
  • Team of 3–7
  • One 1–2 hour meeting a week, weeks 2–9 each quarter (done before finals)
  • Meeting day and time TBD
  • Present progress at our monthly general meeting