Statistics Lab

Why ALA?

Written on 08.05.2026 11:22 by Verena Wolf

Dear all,

we would like to share some thought about ALA with you and thank everybody who gave feedback until now.
Regards, Verena Wolf.

Why practice with AI?

Like it or not, working with AI is becoming part of most jobs. It makes sense to start learning how to use it well now rather than later. Part of that skill is understanding where AI is actually good and where it produces nonsense that needs to be critically checked. A good AI tutor can also explain things in different ways, give you instant feedback, and help you when you're stuck — without just giving you the answer.

Why as a research project?

ALA is a research project at DFKI and Saarland University. We're studying how to build AI learning tools that actually help you think, not think for you. By using ALA in the Statistics Lab, you get a useful tool and we learn how to make it better. Win-win.

Why is it mandatory?

Same reason homework is mandatory in introductory courses: regular engagement with the material is a prerequisite for exam admission. ALA exercises are just another form of that.

Why pass/fail instead of partial credit?

Each ALA exercise is graded pass/fail. Since the goal is to encourage engagement with the material and AI rather than evaluate every detail for correctness, partial credit is not meaningful or appropriate in this context. The points per exercise vary and are scaled to match the other coursework components.

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