Analysis of student characteristics and feeling of efficacy in a first undergraduate artificial intelligence course

Abstract

An introductory artificial intelligence course may represent the first subject exposure for many students. Prior to taking this course, students may have formed perceptions regarding the difficulty of artificial intelligence from books, television, movies and other media featuring extrapolations of the technology. This paper analyzes what effects student perceptions of their ability to succeed in an introductory artificial intelligence course. It presents analysis of the association that exists between student characteristics and feelings of efficacy in an introductory undergraduate-level artificial intelligence course. This exploratory work demonstrates fifty-one statistically significant correlations between different characteristics and indications of efficacy or performance.