Student-Driven Recommendations on AI Policy
In a Design Classroom

Role: Graduate Research Assistant | Timeline: Jan 2025-Present

Advisor: Dr. Yasmine Kotturi

Qualitative Research Semi-structured interviews Participatory Design Workshop Facilitation Thematic Analysis Affinity Diagram AI policy design in education Participant Recruitment Academic Writing IRB Protocol

Overview

With the increasing integration of generative AI in education, policies governing its use are often created without direct student input. This gap can lead to policies that do not align with students' needs or learning experiences. By positioning students as “lead users” (Von Hippel, 2006)—early adopters of generative AI in education—our project aims to address this issue by developing student-authored AI policies to better support their learning outcomes. Through understanding how students perceive AI and its role in their coursework, this research provides actionable insights that can inform future AI policies in design education.

Research Questions

R1: How do students perceive AI integration into a design course?

R2: How can student-driven policies inform generative AI use in classroom settings?

Participants

9 students who took HCC629: Fundamentals of Human-Centered Computing at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in Fall 2024 with Dr. Yasmine Kotturi.

Methods

  • A three-part participatory workshop series
  • Pre- and post-workshop surveys
  • Follow-up interviews

Project Timeline

Recruitment

Screening surveys to identify participants

February 2025

Workshop 1

Brainstorming policy recommendations through candid conversations

March 28, 2025

Workshop 2

Curating policy recommendations through student-authored zine making

April 11, 2025

Workshop 3

Applying policy recommendations through interface redesign activity

April 25, 2025

Follow-up Interviews

Investigate deeper insights from selected participants who left interesting comments during the workshops

June - July, 2025

Data Analysis

Conduct qualitative and quantitative analysis on surveys, discussions, and interviews

Mid June - Mid August 2025

Paper Writing

Presenting findings at CHI 2026

Mid-August - Early September 2025

Next Steps

Circulate the curated zines on campus

Develop my Master's thesis

Sept - Dec 2025

Workshop Photos

Workshop 1

Workshop 1 - Group discussion
Workshop 1 - Participant interaction
Workshop 1 - Collaborative work
Workshop 1 - Group activity
Workshop 1 - Discussion session
Workshop 1 - Participant engagement
Workshop 1 - Group collaboration
Workshop 1 - Workshop environment
Workshop 1 - Interactive session
Workshop 1 - Group discussion
Workshop 1 - Participant activity
Workshop 1 - Collaborative work
Workshop 1 - Group interaction
Workshop 1 - Workshop session
Workshop 1 - Participant discussion
Workshop 1 - Group activity
Workshop 1 - Interactive workshop
Workshop 1 - Participant engagement
Workshop 1 - Group collaboration
Workshop 1 - Workshop environment
Workshop 1 - Interactive session
Workshop 1 - Group discussion
Workshop 1 - Participant activity

Workshop 2

Workshop 2 - Zine making session
Workshop 2 - Creative process
Workshop 2 - Participant work
Workshop 2 - Zine creation
Workshop 2 - Collaborative zine making
Workshop 2 - Workshop activity
Workshop 2 - Participant engagement
Workshop 2 - Zine workshop
Workshop 2 - Creative workshop
Workshop 2 - Workshop session

Responsibilities

  • Designed and led a three-part participatory workshop series with 9 student participants
  • Conducted qualitative thematic analysis on workshops' audio transcriptions
  • Developed IRB Protocol and managed compensations for participants
  • Coordinated the curation of final policy artifacts, including zines and redesigned GenAI interface mockups
  • Submitted the paper based on this study to CHI 2026

Findings

Findings highlight the need for protected spaces to discuss unfiltered practice among students, and suggest that student-authored policies may foster clearer expectations and more purposeful use of AI in the classroom

Student-authored zines with policy recommendations

UPDATE-2025/10/22🎉 The zines have been officially archived at UMBC Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery - both digitally and physically, and is featured in their Artificial Intelligence & AI Literacy guide!

Note: This is an interactive prototype. You can click to navigate through the zine pages.