Grace Li
PhD Student, University of Chicago
grace_li [AT] uchicago.edu
Bio
Hi! I'm Grace, a second-year Computer Science PhD student at the University of Chicago advised by Professor Mina Lee. My research is in Human-AI interaction with a focus on understanding how technology can be used to deepen student learning by fostering intrinsic motivation and sustained resilience.
I am currently exploring the following areas:- Student AI Literacy - Curriculum Design and Evaluation: How do specific AI literacy lessons affect student interaction behaviors with an LLM?
- Educator AI Literacy - Training and Support: How can we support educators in adapting and implementing AI literacy into their own classroom contexts?
- Facilitating Student/Teacher Dynamics: How can we support both student agency and teacher trust in and out of the classroom?
Before joining UChicago, I did my undergrad at Barnard College, double majoring in Computer Science and English with a concentration in Creative Writing. I earned English Departmental Honors and the Theodore R. Bashkow Undergraduate Research Award in Computer Science. I was fortunate to be advised by Jhumpa Lahiri, for my Creative Writing Thesis. Throughout my undergraduate career, I did research with Professor Lydia Chilton on Human-AI co-writing tools to support science communication and with Professor Smaranda Muresan on using explanation dialogues to improve science explanations.
If you are a current undergraduate or masters student at UChicago, interested in working with me, please email me with your a resume and cover letter.
News
* Scroll for more- [October 2025] "3-Week High School LLM Literacy Course: Syllabus, Projects, and Activities" was accepted to NeurIPS Education Materials 2025
- [October 2025] Presented on Panel at Connecticut College's AI in the Liberal Arts Symposium alongside Barnard faculty, staff, and students: Benjamin Breyer, Marko Krkeljas, Fatima Koli, and Mouaouia Rayhana.
- [August 2025] Participated in the ICER Doctoral Consortium and presented a poster in Charlottesville, VA.
- [July 2025] Presented a poster at the MIT AI & Education Summit.
- [June 2025] Finished teaching an AI literacy course to high school students through the UChicago PreCollege Program
- [February 2025] Presented my research on AI literacy and student-AI interaction at UChicago's People and Technology Seminar.
- [March 2025] Attended SIGCSE TS in Pittsburg, PA!
- [February 2025] Started serving as Graduate Student Rep for the UChicago Committe on Education
- [September 2024] Accepted to the UChicago Committee on Education as the first Computer Science fellow.
Publications
Most recent publications on Google Scholar.
‡ indicates equal contribution.
"I would have completely trusted the LLM's response": Changes in Students' Understanding and Behaviors After an AI Literacy Hallucination Lesson
Grace Li, Jonathan Liu, Jaemarie Solyst, Diana Franklin, and Mina Lee
under submission. 2025.
A Constructivist Approach to Structuring Technical and Socio-Ethical AI Literacy Lessons
Grace Li, Jaemarie Solyst, and Mina Lee
under submission. 2025.
"I never would have thought to say this": Example-Based Exploration to Balance Scientists' Writing Preferences with Public Science Communication Strategies
Grace Li, YY Teng, Juna Kawai-Yue, Unaisah Ahmed, Anatta Tantiwongse, Jessica Liang, Dorothy Zhang, Kynnedy Simone Smith, Tao Long, Lydia B. Chilton
under submission. 2025.
"I would have completely trusted the LLM's response": Changes in Students' Understanding and Behaviors After an AI Literacy Hallucination Lesson
Grace Li, Jonathan Liu, Jaemarie Solyst, Diana Franklin, and Mina Lee
under submission. 2025.
A Constructivist Approach to Structuring Technical and Socio-Ethical AI Literacy Lessons
Grace Li, Jaemarie Solyst, and Mina Lee
under submission. 2025.
"I never would have thought to say this": Example-Based Exploration to Balance Scientists' Writing Preferences with Public Science Communication Strategies
Grace Li, YY Teng, Juna Kawai-Yue, Unaisah Ahmed, Anatta Tantiwongse, Jessica Liang, Dorothy Zhang, Kynnedy Simone Smith, Tao Long, Lydia B. Chilton
under submission. 2025.
Tweetorial Hooks: Generative AI Tools to Motivate Science on Social Media
Tao Long, Dorothy Zhang, Grace Li, Batool Taraif, Samia Menon, Kynnedy Smith, Sitong Wang, Katy Gero, Lydia B. Chilton
ICCC'24: International Conference on Computational Creativity. 2023.
Eliciting Topic Hierarchies from Large Language Models
Grace Li, Tao Long, Lydia B. Chilton
arXiv: arxiv preprint. 2023.
"Is ChatGPT a Better Explainer than My Professor?": Evaluating the Explanation Capabilities of LLMs in Conversation Compared to a Human Baseline
Grace Li, Milad Alshomary, Smaranda Muresan
arXiv: arxiv preprint. 2024.
Teaching
University of Chicago - Pre-College Program, Summer 2025
Course Title: Understanding AI: Challenges, Changes, and How We Communicate
Position: Instructor of Record
Columbia University, Spring 2024
Course Title: User Interface Design
Position: Teaching Assistant
New York City PS 153 - 1st and 2nd Grade, Spring 2024
Course Title: Afterschool Computing Program
Position: Co-Instructor
Columbia University, Fall 2023
Course Title: Natural Language Processing
Position: Teaching Assistant
Barnard College, Spring 2023 - Spring 2024
Course Title: Speaking Center
Position: Head Speaking Fellow
Barnard College, Spring 2022 - Fall 2023
Course Title: Introduction to Data Structures and Algorithms
Position: Peer Tutor