Interactive exam training for students
How can law students better prepare for the mandatory state examination? What tools can be used to specifically improve students’ case-solving skills? These are the questions facing Anika Klafki and her team from the Faculty of Law.Their answer is KlausI. This is an innovative AI that offers personalized, interactive exam training. As Anika Klafki explains, the artificial intelligence suggests topics for exams to students and gives them feedback on their case solution. »KlausI is designed to give students feedback on the style, content and structure as well as the level of argumentation of their solution«, says Anika Klafki.
Data security is also a top priority. Because the AI tool and the database are operated on university servers, the tool is independent. The system is also future-proof and expandable. Prof. Klafki and her colleague Markus Gellrich have already created an initial basic model, and the tool will be further refined as part of the fellowship. The legal scholars are cooperating closely with the Institute of Computer Science at the University of Jena. As an open source project, »KlausI« offers great transfer potential for other law faculties and departments with similar exam requirements.
Focus on text comprehension and language skills in Latin
Tim Haubenreißer’s project is called »Übersetzen mit Programmmanleitung. Digitale Dialoge zur Interpretation lateinisch-philosophischer Texte« (»Translating with programme guidance. Digital dialogues for the interpretation of Latin philosophical texts«.) The aim of this web-based tool is to improve students’ language skills.»Interpreting and structurally analysing Latin texts is one of the prerequisites of our subject,«, says Tim Haubenreißer, who works as a research assistant at the Institute of Philosophy. This means that the new tool does not provide students with a one-to-one translation of Latin texts, but rather supports them in enabling them to produce their own translations.
At the same time, the web tool is intended to show the lecturer where the students have problems with the translation and where there may still be some catching up to do. Used competently, the new system could help reduce students’ reluctance to tackle classical texts, says Tim Haubenreißer. Another advantage is that the system could be adapted relatively easily for other languages.
University teaching across disciplinary boundaries
Dr Denise Schaller and Grit Böhme have been awarded a further fellowship. Denise Schaller works as a medical specialist in the University Hospital’s Department of Neurology, while Grit Böhme is a qualified social pedagogue (M.A. special and integration education) and occupational therapist and works as a lecturer for special tasks at the University of Applied Sciences Jena.In their project »Videobasierte Erfahrungsräume für interprofessionelle Bildung« (»Video-based experiential spaces for interprofessional education«), they are building a bridge between the study of medicine and occupational therapy. The focus is on working with people with disabilities, both physical and mental. »We focus on the needs of disabled people, on the question of how they can be enabled to participate«, says Denise Schaller.
This involves, for example, providing support in everyday life and sensitizing future doctors and occupational therapists to the right way to interact with disabled people. During the training, a short film will be produced and the participants are encouraged to reflect on their own actions. Theoretical background knowledge should not be neglected, says Denise Schaller.
Simulations and virtual labs complement basic studies
Chemists Christoph Steinbeck and Dr Kevin Jablonka want to combine simulations, virtual laboratories and machine learning to develop AI-supported learning environments for laboratory practicals in the natural sciences. »We want to modernize basic practical training in chemistry«, says Prof. Steinbeck. In concrete terms, this means doing away with handwritten lab books in favour of digital recordings.The advantage is obvious: the results of experiments are recorded digitally, are machine-readable and therefore easily available to other users. At the same time, browser-based virtual labs can combine experiments with simulations, allowing safe and repeatable exploration. The data collected by the students will be analysed using AI-supported tools, which promotes a critical understanding of the possibilities and limits of artificial intelligence.
Christoph Steinbeck says that the planned system is nothing fundamentally new; laboratory information management systems have been standard in industry for years. With
