This Discovery Session explores integrating AI, including ChatGPT and AI personas, into community-based learning courses to identify and address community issues. Utilizing these tools in curriculum development enhances student engagement and empowers diverse learners to apply course content for impactful, real-world solutions.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in service-learning courses presents an opportunity to enhance curriculum development, increase student engagement, and positively impact diverse local communities. This discovery session aims to provide educators with practical steps for integrating AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and other AI tools, into community-based projects, with a special focus on using AI personas to address communication barriers across age groups, cultural backgrounds, and languages.
AI is transforming the educational landscape, and its integration into community-based learning courses offers students and faculty new ways to engage with community-based projects. Merging AI into these projects allows students to better identify and understand the needs of local communities, whether they are urban, rural, or online-based, and how they can address those needs using course knowledge.
AI personas are virtual characters created by AI tools that can simulate different perspectives, cultural experiences, and communication styles. By crafting AI personas based on community members' demographics, educators can help students practice communicating and collaborating with individuals who may have different ethnic, generational, or socio-cultural backgrounds.
One of the most significant challenges students face in community-based learning is understanding and communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds, particularly in rural communities. AI tools offer several benefits here. Incorporating AI personas representing multiple generations within a family or different stakeholders enables students to practice communication skills and strategies.
Community-based learning often requires students to identify community problems, such as gaps and then propose practical solutions. AI tools can assist in this process by helping students gather and synthesize local data (e.g., census data, local news, or health statistics) to identify pressing community issues. AI could analyze existing community resources and provide suggestions on how to build upon them. Once students identify an issue, AI personas can simulate discussions with different stakeholders, allowing students to refine their communication strategies based on the feedback the personas provide.
AI offers a new frontier in community-based learning by breaking down barriers to communication and collaboration in diverse communities. By using AI personas, educators can help students practice working with diverse cultures and nonprofit stakeholders. As educators integrate AI into the curriculum, they should focus on using these tools to amplify the impact of student-driven community projects and to foster deeper understanding across these communities.
By the end of the discovery session, educators should feel confident in using AI tools to enhance their courses, particularly in helping students navigate and address the diverse needs of local communities. These tools provide innovative ways to bridge gaps in communication, offering opportunities for students to grow as community-engaged professionals.