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AI Tutoring

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Self-Tutoring Student's Guide

Generative AI tools offer powerful new ways to enhance the learning experience both inside and outside the classroom.

Beyond simply providing answers to prompts, GPTs can be used to interactively engage with a topic or course material, to assess your understanding, or to reflect upon materials in personal ways tailored to individual learning or study strategies.

Access to AI unlocks new learning opportunities for disadvantaged students. For example, the use of GPTs can help English as a second language (ESL) students to work on English skills, through platforms like Duolingo, while also conversing with them in their native language.

The opportunity for one-on-one tutoring with AI also will enable traditionally underserved students - if they are given access to these tools by their institution.

Use Cases

Here's how you can use AI to become a more effective self-tutor:

Explain Concepts

Struggling to grasp a difficult concept from lectures or textbooks?

Have the AI explain them to you in a way that you understand.

Complex ideas

Explain the concept of photosynthesis in simple terms, 
as if you were talking to a person who had never taken 
introductory biology.

Photosynthesis is like a plant’s way of making its own food using sunlight. Here’s a simple way to picture what happens:

  1. Sunlight as an Energy Source
    Plants have special “solar panels” in their leaves (the green parts called chloroplasts). These panels absorb sunlight.

  2. Taking In Raw Materials

  3. Carbon Dioxide: Plants pull in a gas called carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air through tiny holes in their leaves.

  4. Water: Plants also draw water (H₂O) up through their roots from the soil.

  5. Making Food (Sugar) and Releasing Oxygen
    Using sunlight as energy, plants combine the carbon dioxide and water to make a type of sugar (this is like a plant’s “food”). A byproduct of this process is oxygen, which is released into the air.

  6. Why It Matters

  7. Plants Grow and Live: The sugar produced helps the plant grow, develop, and carry out all its functions.
  8. We Breathe Oxygen: The oxygen released during photosynthesis is what most living things (including humans) need to breathe.

In short, photosynthesis is a natural process that keeps both plants and animals alive: plants get food for themselves, and they give off oxygen for us to breathe.

Okay, imagine plants are like little chefs that make their own food. But instead of using an oven or a stove, they use sunlight! That process of making food using sunlight is called photosynthesis.

Think of it like this:

  1. Ingredients: Plants need ingredients to make their food, just like we do. They use two main things:

    • Carbon dioxide: This is a gas that's in the air all around us. We actually breathe it out when we exhale! Plants "breathe" it in through tiny holes in their leaves.
    • Water: Plants drink water through their roots, like we drink with a straw.

  2. The "Kitchen": Inside plant leaves, there are tiny little "kitchens" called chloroplasts. These are special because they are green, thanks to something called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is like the chef's magic tool – it can capture the energy from sunlight.

  3. Cooking with Sunlight: When sunlight hits the leaves, the chlorophyll traps its energy. This energy is then used like a power source to mix the carbon dioxide and water together.

  4. Food is Ready! This mixing process creates a kind of sugar called glucose, which is the plant's food. It's like the yummy meal the plant-chef made. The plant uses this food to grow, make flowers, fruits, and all that good stuff.

  5. Bonus – Oxygen! As a byproduct of this amazing food-making process, plants release oxygen into the air. This is fantastic for us because we need oxygen to breathe!

So, in a nutshell, photosynthesis is how plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make their own food (sugar) and release oxygen into the air. It's like a super-efficient, solar-powered kitchen inside each leaf!

It's a really important process because it's how plants grow, and it's also how we get the oxygen we need to live. Pretty cool, huh?

Use analogies and metaphors

These can make abstract ideas more relatable.

For example: 

Give me an analogy to understand the concept of photosynthesis.

Explore different perspectives

Ask the AI to explain a concept from various angles.

For example, 

Explain the theory of evolution in plants from 
a biological, historical, and philosophical perspective.
Reinforcement Learning

Generate practice questions

Specify the topic and type of question.

For example: 

Create 5 multiple-choice questions about the causes 
of World War I.

Get feedback on your answers

Paste in your answers and ask for a critique.

For example: 

Here's my answer to the question: [question]. 

[answer]

Is it correct, and how could I improve it?

Create study guides and summaries

For example: 

Generate a study guide for the chapter on the 
French Revolution in my history textbook

or 

Create flashcards of the key reactions, 
including their reactant, products and the 
mechanism for this Organic Chemistry chapter
Facilitated Discussion

Use Case: Want to engage in deeper discussions about the material, but study partners are unavailable?

Simulated debate

Take a stance on a topic and ask the AI to argue the opposing viewpoint.

For example: 

I believe social media has a net positive impact on society. 

Argue against this position.

Explore "what if" scenarios:

Pose hypothetical questions to probe the material further.

For example: 

What if the outcome of the American Civil War had been different? 

How might history have changed?

Role-play historical figures or characters:

For example: 

Pretend you are Marie Curie, and explain your research on radioactivity 
in a way that a non-scientist could understand.
Enhancing Writing and Research Skills

Use Case: Struggling with essay writing, research paper organization, or finding relevant sources?

Brainstorm essay topics and outlines:

For example: 

Help me brainstorm topics for an essay on the impact of climate change.

or 

Create an outline for a research paper on the ethical implications of artificial intelligence.

Get feedback on your writing:

Paste in your draft and ask for suggestions on clarity, grammar, and style.

For example: 

Review this paragraph and suggest improvements to make it more concise and impactful.

Summarize research articles:

For example: 

Summarize the main findings of this research article: [link to article or text of article].

Please extract the key takeaways from the following report on renewable energy trends.
Reflecting on Your Learning Process

Use Case: Need help identifying your learning strengths and weaknesses or developing better study habits?

Analyze your study sessions:

Describe your study routine to the AI and ask for suggestions for improvement. For example: 

I tend to study for long hours but get easily distracted. 
How can I make my study sessions more efficient?

Identify knowledge gaps:

Ask the AI to quiz you on a topic and point out areas where you need further review.

For example: 

Quiz me on the main concepts of macroeconomics, and tell me which areas I need to study more.

Get personalized learning recommendations:

Explain your learning style and preferences to the AI and ask for tailored advice.

For example: 

I'm a visual learner. What are some effective study strategies for me?

Using ChatGPT/Gemini as a Study Buddy

Exam Preparation

Generate questions 
Generate practice questions on this: {paste material or give topic}
Multiple-choice questions 
Generate multiple choice questions on this: {paste material or give topic
Create flashcards 
Create flashcards on this topic for me: {paste material or give topic}
Improve text/explanation 
How can the following text/explanation about {topic} be improved?: {paste text}
Mnemonics 
Help me remember the 5 most common facts/properties about {topic}
Historical or factual events 
Help me memorize US History

Formulas and equations assistance

Step-by-step instructions 
Find the derivative of f(x) = 3x^3 + 2x^2 + 1
Concepts clarification 
Clarify the concept for the equation: Find the derivative of f(x) = 3x^3 + 2x^2 + 1

Language learning

Vocabulary building 
What does 'aimer' mean in French and what is the antonym?
Conversation practice 
Engage me in a conversation in French (I'm a beginner)

Table: Online, AI-driven Educational Platforms

Platform Subject Areas Target Audience Pricing Key Features
IXL Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Spanish Pre-K to 12th Grade Starts at $9.95/month (single subject), $19.95/month (all subjects) Personalized learning, adaptive questions, real-time diagnostics, progress tracking, awards, and certificates. Covers a vast range of skills and grade levels.
Khan Academy Math, Science, Economics, Arts & Humanities, Computing, Test Prep (SAT, LSAT, MCAT, etc.) K-12, College, Adults Free Comprehensive video lessons, practice exercises, personalized learning dashboard, progress tracking. Covers a wide array of subjects.
Duolingo Languages All ages Free (with Duolingo Plus subscription for added features) Gamified language learning, bite-sized lessons, personalized practice, spaced repetition. Focuses on vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
Quizlet Various (User-Generated Content) All ages Free (with Quizlet Plus subscription for added features) Flashcards, study games, practice tests, and learning tools. Users can create their own study sets or use existing ones.
EdX Various (University-Level Courses) Adults, Professionals Free to audit courses, paid certificates and degrees available Online courses from top universities and institutions worldwide. Offers professional certificates, MicroMasters programs, and online Master's degrees.
Coursera Various (University-Level Courses) Adults, Professionals Free to audit courses, paid certificates and degrees available Similar to EdX, offering a vast catalog of online courses from leading universities and organizations. Provides specializations, professional certificates, and online degrees.
Udemy Various (Skills-Based Courses) Adults, Professionals Courses priced individually (often discounted) Wide range of courses on various topics, including business, technology, personal development, and the arts.
MasterClass Various (Expert-Led Courses) Adults $120/year (individual), $180/year (duo), $240/year (family) Video lessons taught by renowned experts in their respective fields, covering topics like writing, cooking, acting, music, and more.
Codecademy Programming, Data Science, Web Development Teens, Adults Free (basic courses), Pro: $239.88/year or $39.99/month Interactive coding lessons, projects, quizzes, and skill paths. Focuses on practical, hands-on learning for in-demand tech skills.
Brilliant Math, Science, Computer Science Teens, Adults $149/year or $24.99/month Interactive problem-solving courses, focusing on conceptual understanding.
Google Classroom Various, can be used as a platform for any subject K-12, Higher Education Free for schools that use Google Workspace for Education Helps teachers create, distribute, and grade assignments in a paperless way. Integrates with other Google services.
Kahoot Various, can be used to gamify any subject K-12, Higher Education, Corporate Training Free (basic), with paid plans for more features Game-based learning platform that makes it easy to create, share and play learning games or trivia quizzes in minutes.
Grammarly AI writing tool that helps improve writing style, grammatical errors, and spelling. K-12, Higher Education, Professionals Free (basic), with paid plans