Pause & Reflect
When preparing for class, consider what is most challenging for you. Is it:
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- Getting started, figuring out where to focus, or understanding the big picture
- Using effective reading strategies, managing the amount of reading, or taking useful notes
- Identifying questions to ask in class or office hours
- Or something else
What tasks so you need to do yourself and where can you include AI?
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Once you have identified the focus in the upcoming lecture (by checking the syllabus or the course LMS), use AI to help you determine why the new topic is important and how it relates to what you have already learned in the class.
Try to first come up with the answers yourself and then ask AI for feedback on how accurate your understanding is and what you might have missed.
Brain First |
AI First |
| Here is what I understand about Le Chatelier's Principle (explain what you know).
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Why is understanding Le Chatelier’s Principle important in chemistry? |
✅ Brain-first + Specific Context Prompt
Provide the GPT with the schedule and course objectives in the course syllabus for this course.
- Here is what I understand about Le Chatelier's Principle, and how it relates to what has already been covered in class (explain what you know).
- Have I missed any important points on how it connects to what has already been covered, especially concepts for the previous 1-2 classes?
- What other resources could I use to develop my initial understanding of Le Chatelier’s Principle?
To prepare for an upcoming lecture, it is important to identify key terms and concepts in the assigned readings and lecture slides (if available).
- Preview the class materials and identify the main terms by yourself and ask AI whether you have captured all the most important concepts for the upcoming lecture. Try to explain the concepts in your words and ask AI for feedback on how accurate your understanding is.
- Don’t worry if your definitions are not accurate yet since the content has not been covered in class yet. However, engaging with the class content prior to class will allow you to take better notes and gain deeper understanding during lecture.
- If no materials are available prior to class, refer to your syllabus and ask AI to provide an overview of the topic (including key terms) that will be covered in class.
- If you ask AI to summarize textbook chapters for you, be sure to use this summary as a starting point for your own deep reading of the text. Always verify AI-generated summaries with your textbook to ensure accuracy.
- If you come across a complicated visual (chart, diagram), ask AI to provide a simple explanation of the visual. If the visual looks at least slightly familiar to you when in class, you will be able to take better notes during lecture.
- For tips on effective reading strategies, review these other ARC resources:
Brain First |
AI First |
| Unit 1 of my MATH111 course focuses on limits and continuity.
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Summarize Unit 1 of MATH111 focusing on key concepts and definitions. |
✅ Brain-first + Specific Context Prompt
Upload the relevant materials (eg PDF chapter of your textbook*)
- Unit 1 of my MATH111 course focuses on limits and continuity. I believe a function is (explain what you think this is). Then a function can fail to be continuous (explain when you think this occurs)
- Provide feedback on how accurate this description is and whether I have missed anything from the textbook about this topic.
AI can help you brainstorm relevant questions you can ask in class or office hours.
Before you dive in, ask yourself
- What do I already understand about this topic?
- What feels unclear or confusing?
- What kinds of questions do I already have?
Next, work with AI to refine and deepen your questions
- Ask AI to also generate questions, then compare them and refine them based on your course readings and syllabus.
- Describe your initial understanding of the topic to AI, and then ask the tool to assess your understanding
- Ask AI for additional questions you could ask in class or during office hours to deepen your understanding
Brain First |
AI First |
| Review these 5 questions I have about the causes of World War I.
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What are some questions I should ask about the causes of World War I? |
✅ Brain-first + Specific Context Prompt for More Useful Results
1. Set-up the scenario you want from the GPT and upload relevant information (such as lecture notes)
You are a historian, and specifically an expert on the history of World War I. I am a college student taking a class on Modern European History.
2. Ask the GPT to help you dig deeper into the material
Based on my notes from the previous lecture, generate five thoughtful and specific questions I can explore to better understand he causes of World War I. These questions should help me connect this new topic to the content learned earlier in the semester.
