Pedagogical Strategies for Integrating AI Tutors into Teaching and Practice

Before integrating an AI tutor into a course, instructors need to be very clear about why and how they want students to use a tutor. This decision begins with careful examination of the goals of the course and considering how interacting with an AI tutor will help students reach those goals as well as how it will help them develop as learners. AI tutors should be integrated into courses in ways that help students become more empowered as learners and that will reduce the potential for over-reliance on the tutor. The key is to consider what AI does well and focus students on using the tutor to support them in those tasks (Alby, n.d.; Bowen & Watson, 2024; Mollick, 2024).

After identifying the goals that an AI tutor will serve, it’s important to communicate these goals to students, to help them understand that the tutor is set up to support their learning, and to help them understand how they will use the tutor. Remind them, also, that the tutor is an additional resource and not a substitute for the teacher or teaching assistants. Here is an example of the kind of language that might be included in a syllabus:

You will have access to an additional resource in this course, an AI tutor called [name]. You can find this tutor in [describe where/how students will access the tutor]. I have implemented this tutor because it has four key benefits. First, it is available to you 24/7 and can provide you with opportunities to have guidance for working through course materials at any time. Second, it has been trained on materials from the course, so it can provide you with help that is tailored to the course content and assignments. Third, it will adapt and personalize its work with you so that you are getting the specific help you need. Finally, it has been trained to let you know when you may need to reach out to me for help—and I encourage you to do that! It’s great to use the tutor, but I also want you to work with me as you learn in this course. As the course continues, I will provide you with guidance for how you can use the AI tutor to help you review challenging concepts, check your understanding, and receive feedback on your work. I will also help you understand when you should reach out to me for support.

The specific use cases will vary across courses, and instructors need to think carefully about how students will benefit from using an AI tutor in their specific context. Most importantly, instructors need to provide students with clear guidance to help them make the most of the tutor without offloading important cognitive work to AI (Bowen & Watson, 2024; Mollick, 2024).

Using AI tutors to review challenging concepts

Students can use the AI tutor to help them build their understanding of course material that is challenging to them. For this type of use, the instructor may guide students to ask the tutor to work through explanations of difficult concepts, help them solve problems (in a course requiring quantitative problem-solving), or work through a case study with them. Rather than simply having the AI do the work while students watch, students should be provided with strategies for interacting with the tutor as part of the review (Bowen & Watson, 2024).

Using AI tutors to quiz or check students’ understanding

Students can use an AI tutor to help them prepare for course assessments by asking it to quiz them on their understanding of content or on their ability to think through problem-solving tasks. For example, students can be guided to explain that they are about to take a quiz on a specific set of course materials and direct the tutor to ask them questions that require them to recall, explain, or use key concepts. The tutor can provide feedback on specific strengths and weaknesses, offer multiple attempts at questions, and offer hints instead of simply providing answers to questions they got wrong. The tutor can also give more challenging questions as students move through a tutoring session. Importantly, the tutor should be trained to recommend that students reach out to a faculty member or teaching assistant if they continue to struggle with a specific concept, problem, or process (Alby, n.d.).

Using AI tutors for feedback and to prompt student reflection

Students can use an AI tutor to help them think critically about work they are doing for a course by asking for feedback and support in determining their next steps. For example, in a course where students are writing an essay or report, the instructor may guide them to upload a draft and ask the AI tutor to give them feedback (based on the criteria for the assignment) and help them make a plan for revision. They may also upload a partial draft and ask the tutor to help them determine whether they are on the right track or if they may need to shift course. In a course that requires quantitative problem solving, they can enter their solution to a problem and ask AI to help them identify errors in reasoning. Alternatively, they can enter a partial solution and ask the tutor to give them feedback on their progress and help them take effective next steps. With any of these uses, it’s important that students be required to reflect in writing on what they have learned and to articulate how they will use the feedback from the AI tutor to guide their next steps (Bowen & Watson, 2024; Mollick, 2024; Mollick & Mollick, 2024).