Turning Teacher Expertise into AI-Generated Educational Simulations (gail.wharton.upenn.edu)

The Generative AI Labs team has introduced "Primer," an open-source platform designed to transform educator expertise into AI-generated educational simulations. Recognizing the challenge students face when applying their knowledge in unfamiliar contexts, Primer allows educators to collaboratively design tailored simulations that engage students through realistic scenarios. By leveraging generative AI, Primer simplifies the simulation creation process, enabling educators to focus on defining learning objectives, student backgrounds, and instructional strategies rather than coding. The significance of Primer lies in its architecturally structured approach to marrying educator intent with generative AI capabilities. Through a systematic authoring phase involving structured interviews, educators outline lesson plans that are then transformed into interactive simulations by specialized AI agents. These simulations adapt in real-time to student choices, providing personalized feedback and enhancing learning outcomes. With its robust features, including LLM-agnostic functionality and compliance flexibility, Primer aims to democratize access to sophisticated educational tools, fostering research and collaboration within the AI/ML community while advancing simulation-based pedagogy.