Title

MLExAI: A Project- Based Application-Oriented Model

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-2010

Department 1

Computer Science

Abstract

Our approach to teaching introductory artificial intelligence (AI) unifies its diverse core topics through a theme of machine learning, and emphasizes how AI relates more broadly with computer science. Our work, funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, involves the development, implementation, and testing of a suite of projects that can be closely integrated into a one-term AI course. Each project involves the development of a machine learning system in a specific application. These projects have been used in six different offerings over a three-year period at three different types of institutions. While we have presented a sample of the projects as well as limited preliminary experiences in other venues, this article presents the first assessment of our work over an extended period of three years. Results of assessment show that the projects were well received by the students. By using projects involving real-world applications we provided additional motivation for students. While illustrating core concepts, the projects introduced students to an important area in computer science, machine learning, thus motivating further study.

Comments

Original version is available from the publisher at: http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1821999&bnc=1

DOI

10.1145/1821996.1821999

COinS