The LSRPC is a Lexington High School student-run collaborative led by Dr. Alexa Muse, a sophomore and senior English teacher. The Boston Globe first learned of the collaborative through Noe Voskuil, a junior and member of the LSRPC.
“I talked to [The Boston Globe] a bit about the LSRPC, […] and we talked about how teachers, particularly English teachers, are handling AI,” Voskuil said.
The LSRPC’s next project is the second iteration of a study related to student perspectives on generative AI. It began in Dr. Muse’s sophomore English classes during the spring of 2023.
“Instead of telling students not to use [ChatGPT], I was really more interested in seeing them grapple with it for themselves by interviewing other students about ChatGPT,” Muse said.
To generate meaningful interview analysis, the LSRPC incorporated academic theory and research frameworks and developed a collaborative writing process.
“It’s a very dialectical process where you converse about what you want to say, and you have a discussion about what you want to write first before putting that onto the paper,” Angela Xie, a junior and co-head researcher of the LSRPC, said.
For Voskuil, this cooperative process has been a highlight of her participation in the collaborative.
“It’s been a great time working with people who are so invested in a topic that I find interesting and collaborating on a piece of writing,” Voskuil said.
Through its interviews, the LSRPC also allows LHS students to voice their opinions on global discourses.
“My goal is always to act as a microphone for my students… I think sometimes, the students are the ones who have to deal with the policies that we make,” Muse said.
Through the LSRPC, students have the opportunity to influence AI policies and curriculum design.
“I like being a part of something that’s bigger than myself […] The work we’re doing is so relevant, and it feels good to work on something that we know is going to have an impact,” Aanya Kaveti, a junior and co-head researcher of the LSRPC, said.
Finally, Muse discussed how her decision to create the LSRPC has impacted herself.
“The LSRPC has absolutely, without a doubt, been the highlight of my whole teaching career… We always tell our students to be risk takers, but as a teacher, I think I also learned how to be a risk taker,” Muse said.
