How does an AI Win at Tic-Tac-Toe?
Students articulate the underlying principles of how AI (artificial intelligence) works by writing the pseudocode that accurately represents how AI would learn to win Tic-Tac-Toe and demonstrating that the AI involved in Tic-Tac-Toe can be adapted to play Connect 4.
Overview
Students consider whether a sheet of paper that dictates Tic-Tac-Toe moves has any intelligence, and the demonstration introduces artificial intelligence. Pairs then play the game, compile winning strategies, and compare them across groups. After direct instruction on if-then statements and reinforcement learning, students write pseudocode that captures how an AI would learn to play Tic-Tac-Toe well. As a summative task, they adapt that logic by writing pseudocode for Connect 4. The lesson combines mathematics and computer science.
Lesson Objectives
- Students articulate the underlying principles of how AI (artificial intelligence) works by writing the pseudocode that accurately represents how AI would learn to win Tic-Tac-Toe and demonstrating that the AI involved in Tic-Tac-Toe can be adapted to play Connect 4.
Standards
NGSS · 2
- HS-ETS1-2Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
- HS-ETS1-4Use a computer simulation to model the impact of proposed solutions to a complex real-world problem with numerous criteria and constraints on interactions within and between systems relevant to the problem.
CCSS Math · 2
- HSS-CP.B.6Find the conditional probability of A given B as the fraction of B's outcomes that also belong to A, and interpret the answer in terms of the model.
- HSS-MD.B.7Analyze decisions and strategies using probability concepts (e.g., product testing, medical testing, pulling a hockey goalie at the end of a game).
CCSS ELA · 2
- RST.6-8.3 / RST.9-10.3 / RST.11-12.3Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.
- RST.6-8.4 / RST.9-10.4 / RST.11-12.4Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 / 9-10 / 11-12 texts and topics.