An Ai-enable Knowledge Graph and the Support of Productive Struggle During Project-based Learning in Cybersecurity Education

Conference: The IAFOR International Conference on Education in Hawaii (IICE2022)
Title: An Ai-enable Knowledge Graph and the Support of Productive Struggle During Project-based Learning in Cybersecurity Education
Stream: Design, Implementation & Assessment of Innovative Technologies in Education
Presentation Type: Virtual Presentation
Authors:
Ratrapee Techawitthayachinda, Arizona State University, United States
Yuli Deng, Arizona State University, United States
Zhen Zeng, Arizona State University, United States
Huan Liu, Arizona State University, United States
Ying-Chih Chen, Arizona State University, United States
Dijiang Huang, Arizona State University, United States

Abstract:

Traditional cybersecurity courses in college use lecture-based, passive instruction to deliver fragmented and incoherent knowledge to students. Although project-based learning (PBL) is adapted to support students’ learning, students struggle with integrating coherent target concepts, using productive strategies to solve real-world problems, and managing their learning progress. To respond to the national challenge on the workforce development in AI for Cybersecurity, we propose a novel AI-enabled cyberSecurity knowledge graph (AISecKG) in the hands-on labs to simulate real-life cybersecurity scenarios and support students to engage in productive struggle.
This study is conducted at a cybersecurity course of a public university located in the Southwest United States. Seventy students are enrolled in the course. Students are required to engage in three PBL projects that address real-world complex problem scenarios with the support of a virtual lab environment and AISecKG scaffold. Two pre/post surveys are implemented to understand the effects and learning process of AISecKG on students’ conceptual performance and problem-solving capacities. The first survey measures students’ metacognition, self-efficacy, and PBL learning processes. The second survey measures students’ perception of struggle, self-efficacy to manage struggle, and strategies to manage struggle. Ten students are selected for interviews at the end of each project to understand their learning experience, challenges, and learning strategies of using AISecKG. The initial results showed that students positively consider that the struggles with the support of AISecKG help them develop deep understandings of cybersecurity knowledge through PBL.

Virtual Presentation

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