AI and Children's Books: Two Ideas from Siegen Receive Funding

With two projects, the University of Siegen is among the universities selected for the “Freiraum 2026” funding program of the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education. Funding has been awarded to the project “AI-Supported Computer Science Studies of the Future” by Dr. Andreas Hoffmann, as well as “BücherBrücken: Students Translate Science” by Dr. Tobias Leßner. Both projects will receive a total of 450,000 euros in funding over two years. “We are very pleased that our Siegen projects have been approved. This funding is a clear sign of the strong innovative power of our teaching and demonstrates how consistently we are exploring new pedagogical approaches,” say Dr. Barbara Müller-Naendrup, Prorector for Teacher Training, Further Education and Sustainability, and Prof. Dr. Hans Merzendorfer, Prorector for Academic Affairs, Teaching, and Quality Management at the University of Siegen. “Above all, our students benefit. At the same time, we address current topics—such as the reflective use of artificial intelligence—in a practical way, so that learning becomes not only more effective but also more responsible.”

Explaining Science in an Accessible Way Through Children’s Books

The “BücherBrücken: Students Translate Science” project is aimed at students training to become elementary school teachers. In a seminar, they collaborate to develop a children’s book that presents scientific findings on democracy education in elementary school in a way that is understandable and vivid for children. To do this, they adapt content from academic texts into picture books or comics. The focus is on how scientific findings can be conveyed in a way that makes them useful for everyday school life. At the same time, the prospective teachers acquire a skill that is becoming increasingly important in their professional lives: they develop their own teaching materials tailored to the needs of their students.

The students are supported by a professional illustrator who, among other things, introduces them to visual storytelling and guides the design process. The students then test the resulting chapters in workshops with elementary school children and revise them based on the feedback. In this way, scientific findings and practical experience are equally incorporated into the finished book.

Ultimately, the children’s book and accompanying materials are to be published as freely available educational resources. The concept can be adapted to other topics and types of schools. “The students aren’t just working toward a course grade, but toward a product that will be published and used. This boosts motivation, commitment, and collaborative work,” explains project leader Dr. Tobias Leßner from the Department of Education. The participating teacher education students are in their third semester of the master’s program and come from various fields of study, such as art or general studies.

Integrating AI Meaningfully into Computer Science Studies

Another project focuses on artificial intelligence. AI is fundamentally changing software development. Many students already use generative AI regularly when programming. “There is a risk that they will adopt the generated code without checking it, overlook errors, or neglect fundamental programming skills,” emphasizes project leader Dr. Andreas Hoffmann from the Chair of Operating Systems and Distributed Systems.

This is where the project “AI-Supported Computer Science Education of the Future” comes in. Instead of simply allowing or prohibiting the use of AI, the goal is to teach students how to use these tools thoughtfully and competently. Under the guiding principle “By Students, For Students,” computer science and teacher education students are jointly developing new teaching materials and assignments. Among other things, this involves effective prompting, identifying and correcting errors in AI-generated code, and providing well-founded feedback on the code they’ve written.

The concept is supplemented by an AI-supported tutoring system that provides automated feedback on assignments, thereby supporting particularly large learning groups. The new teaching formats are being tested in various courses and scientifically evaluated. The goal is to develop a practical concept that can also serve as a model for other universities.

Nationwide, the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education is funding 143 projects in the current round, with a total budget of approximately 46 million euros. The funds are provided by the federal and state governments. Key selection criteria include the innovative potential of the concepts and the active participation of students.