Using AI to learn, not to think for you

AI can be a patient tutor that explains things at 2am, or a shortcut that quietly stops you learning. The difference is in how you use it, and research shows the stakes are real.

What the research warns

• In a randomised field experiment with nearly 1,000 high school maths students, researchers tested two GPT-4 based tutors (Bastani et al., summarised by Stanford SCALE).
• While students had access, practice scores rose by 48 per cent with a plain chatbot ('GPT Base') and 127 per cent with a tutor version that had learning safeguards ('GPT Tutor').
• When access was removed, students who had used the plain chatbot performed 17 per cent worse than students who never had it. The safeguarded tutor largely avoided this harm.
• The lesson: getting answers from AI can feel like progress while weakening what you can do on your own, such as in an exam hall with no tools.

Good ways to use AI for learning

• Quizzing: ask for practice questions on a topic, answer them yourself first, then compare (University of Chicago).
• Explaining: when something is not clicking, ask for a simpler explanation, an everyday analogy or definitions of key terms.
• Feedback: paste your own paragraph and ask where your reasoning is unclear, while keeping the writing in your own voice.
• Planning: brainstorm topic ideas or compare possible essay structures, then decide yourself (University of Reading).
• Checking spelling and grammar, where your school or course allows it.

Prompts that keep you doing the thinking

• 'Create five practice questions on photosynthesis. Wait for my answers before giving solutions.' (adapted from University of Chicago)
• 'Explain supply and demand using an everyday analogy, then tell me the most common misconception about it.'
• 'Here is my paragraph arguing that renewable energy suits the UAE. Point out unclear reasoning and unsupported claims, but do not rewrite it.'
• 'Generate 10 revision questions on quadratic equations for timed practice. Do not provide answers.' (adapted from University of Reading)
• 'Ask me questions one at a time to check whether I understand the causes of the First World War.'

Uses to avoid

• Submitting answers, essays or code that AI wrote as if they were your own work: the University of Reading calls this plagiarism.
• Using AI as a shortcut that skips the process: Reading notes you miss the learning when you focus on the end product.
• Using AI for personal reflections and creative assignments meant to show your own perspective (University of Chicago).
• Trusting information without checking it, even when it comes with citations (University of Reading).

A simple 'try first' routine

• Step 1: attempt the problem or draft on your own for at least 10 to 15 minutes before opening any AI tool.
• Step 2: ask AI for a hint or an explanation of the concept, not the final answer.
• Step 3: close the chat and redo the problem from memory.
• Step 4: explain the idea back in your own words, out loud or in writing. If you cannot, you have not learned it yet.
• Step 5: check what your teacher or course allows before using AI on anything that is assessed (see the next lessons).