Interesting Reads This Week

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This week, I've been experiencing serious withdrawal from the amazing Mexican food I enjoyed during my time in the Yucatán, which I left last Friday. To make myself feel even worse, here’s another shot of some of the delicious dishes I had! But now, onto what I read this week.

One shot at success

A new research preprint from Harvard explores the potential impact of a generative AI tutoring system on student learning, comparing it to traditional active learning approaches.

In this study, students in a large undergraduate physics course were divided into two groups. In the first week, each group received instruction either through a specially designed AI chatbot tutor or via conventional active learning methods; in the second week, the groups swapped. The researchers assessed both groups’ knowledge and experiences using a variety of measures.

To develop the AI tutor, the authors employed generative AI and “content-rich prompt engineering,” incorporating pedagogical best practices to optimize learning. In a good newsletter post, Philippa Hardman outlines the ways the tutor chatbot was prompted to best support student learning.

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