Academic librarians Kristen L. Scotti and Lencia McKee designed an innovative workshop bridging artificial intelligence literacy and Python coding skills, teaching programming through generative AI chatbots. Published in College & Research Libraries, the study documents a workshop reaching 62 participants from diverse academic backgrounds.
The program responds to growing cross-disciplinary demand for programming competencies, positioning libraries as essential partners in digital skills education. Using chatbots for real-time coding assistance and debugging support, the workshop specifically targeted beginners while accommodating varied experience levels.
Assessment data revealed strong outcomes: 93% of participants reported increased confidence using AI for coding, with 58% citing significant improvement. Notably, learners with no prior Python experience demonstrated the highest gains, with 69% reporting significant confidence increases. This pattern contrasts with modest gains among advanced practitioners, confirming the workshop’s effectiveness for its intended demographic.
The research contributes to evolving library roles in AI literacy and computational education, offering a replicable model for institutions expanding coding support. While immediate post-workshop surveys captured initial confidence boosts, the authors acknowledge that longitudinal impact assessment remains an area for future investigation.
https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/article/view/27266/35059
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