BrickSmart: Leveraging Generative AI to Support Children's Spatial Language Learning in Family Block Play
Yujia Liu, Siyu Zha, Yuewen Zhang, Yanjin Wang, Y. S. Zhang, Qi Xin, Lunyiu Nie, Chao Zhang, Yingqing Xu
Abstract
Block-building activities are crucial for developing children's spatial reasoning and mathematical skills, yet parents often lack the expertise to guide these activities effectively. BrickSmart, a pioneering system, addresses this gap by providing spatial language guidance through a structured three-step process: Discovery & Design, Build & Learn, and Explore & Expand. This system uniquely supports parents in 1) generating personalized block-building instructions, 2) guiding parents to teach spatial language during building and interactive play, and 3) tracking children's learning progress, altogether enhancing children's engagement and cognitive development. In a comparative study involving 12 parent-child pairs children aged 6-8 years) for both experimental and control groups, BrickSmart demonstrated improvements in supportiveness, efficiency, and innovation, with a significant increase in children's use of spatial vocabularies during block play, thereby offering an effective framework for fostering spatial language skills in children.