Note: This is the first half of the final part of a five-part series exploring how artificial intelligence tools might be effectively integrated into the AVID Focused Note-Taking Process.
Step 5 of AVID’s focused note-taking process focuses on applying learning. Part of that application includes applying learning to new thinking.
Applying Learning
In the Applying Learning phase, students use their notes. More specifically, they save and revisit those notes, using them as a resource or learning tool to help apply or demonstrate what they’ve learned.
Integrating AI
We’ll explore eight approaches for students to partner with AI and apply their learning in ways that extend and deepen their understanding. These approaches allow them to stretch, question, and connect so that they’re better able to apply their new learning at high levels and also toward solving real-world problems.
1. Explaining Without Notes
Students close their notes and explain concepts in their notes from memory. They can either use an audio recording to capture their ideas or write them down.
Once they have their summary, they then enter it into an AI chatbot along with a prompt like: “Based on this summary and explanation, what key ideas might I be missing?” Students then revise their explanation based on the AI-provided feedback.
This approach is beneficial because students are required to practice retrieval and make meaning before getting feedback from the AI.
2. AI Question Coach
Students use AI to push them into asking tougher questions. For this to work, the teacher generally provides initial probing questions for students to answer based on their notes.
Students enter these questions and responses into the AI and then add, “Ask me three tougher questions about this topic to stretch my thinking.” Students record those questions and respond. They can be asked to answer all of the questions or a select number.
Another approach would be to compile AI ideas as a whole class and then discuss and choose together.
The value comes from the AI questions pushing the students further and increasing the question rigor. Students are still doing the heavy lifting and deep thinking to answer the questions.
3. Real-World Examples
This scenario sets students up for what will come next, real-world applications, but it gives them a voice and ownership in the process.
Students begin by brainstorming real-world applications on their own. Where do they see this new learning being relevant beyond the classroom? How might it be used to solve a problem? Students then enter these ideas into an AI chatbot with the prompt, “Give me three additional real-world situations where this concept matters.”
Again, students can compile these ideas as a class or work independently. In either case, they compare their own ideas with the AI suggestions, explain which examples are strongest, and choose one to pursue further.
With this approach, students complete their own brainstorming first, evaluate AI suggestions, and then scaffold goal setting for future learning and application.
4. Cross-Subject Connections
This is similar to generating real-world examples, but it keeps a more academic focus and encourages students to make connections between school-related subjects.
To begin this process, the teacher would ask students, “How does what you have learned matter in other classes you are taking or have taken?” Students write down their explanations, using their notes as a reference and providing examples to support their thinking.
Students then enter this work into AI and ask, “What are additional connections I could make between [subjects A and B, with A representing the content from their notes and B representing the additional subject matter to which they are connecting]?” Students review feedback from the AI and add any missing ideas to their original brainstorm.
While students are leaning on AI to help extend upon their original work, they still must engage in the original academic thinking.
5. Build Study Tools From Notes
Here, students provide their notes to AI and ask it to generate study aids, like flash cards, quiz questions, vocabulary review, and practice prompts. Google’s NotebookLM is particularly useful for this.
Students use these aids to practice and strengthen their understanding of the content in the notes. As they do this, they should review the AI-generated study aids for potential errors. AI can hallucinate, so students should always confirm the accuracy of the generated content.
Students could use the materials to quiz their friends or a partner group. This strategy works because the AI is facilitating review efforts, while the students are the ones answering the questions.
6. Debate Partner
For this approach, students develop a claim, based on their notes, that can be debated. This can mean taking a position on a controversial issue or suggesting a solution to a problem.
Students enter this information into the AI chatbot and prompt it with: “Participate in a friendly debate by arguing the opposite side of the issue. Use evidence to support your arguments and question any weak evidence I present. Use a friendly tone.”
With this approach, the AI is actively engaging the student in debate, prompting higher-level inquiry, stretching thinking, and requiring students to defend their ideas with evidence.
7. Error Analysis
In this example, the teacher provides a prompt. It’s typically an open-ended question that challenges students to use their notes to answer or respond to something complex.
Students enter the question and their response into AI, followed by a prompt like: “Review this response. Do not rewrite it. Only identify weak reasoning, missing evidence, or unclear parts.” Students then make improvements that they feel strengthen their response.
The AI is providing feedback while the student is doing the original thinking as well as the revisions. This is particularly helpful when the teacher does not have time to personally respond to every piece of student writing and when timely feedback is important.
8. General-Use Sentence Stem
This last approach is a bit of a catchall. Teachers can give students this sentence stem: “I already used my notes to do _____. Now, help me improve by _____.”
This option keeps AI in a support role, and it also gives students a strategy for approaching future questions and roadblocks they might face. It can build agency by providing students with a process and prompt idea.
This can be particularly effective when using NotebookLM to store student notes. NotebookLM will reference any uploaded notes and resources whenever answering a student question. This keeps the responses focused and relevant.
Guardrails
With any of these approaches, there are a few guardrails a teacher can use to help ensure that students, and not the AI, are doing the critical thinking:
- Set the expectation that students must use evidence and cite their notes whenever conversing with AI.
- Have students always complete their own first draft before turning to AI.
- Ask the AI to coach, not do.
- Make sure that students explain what they change based on the AI and why they made that change. They could keep these thoughts organized in an AI reflection journal.
- Keep humans in control and make sure that students own their final answers and products. A good way to think about this is HI – AI – HI (Human Intelligence – Artificial Intelligence – Human Intelligence). Humans should come both first and last in the process: human intelligence first, then AI input, then human review and decision-making last.
As students begin to apply their learning, these strategies can help them begin to deepen and stretch their understanding and mastery of course content.
AVID Connections
This resource connects with the following components of the AVID College and Career Readiness Framework:
- Instruction
- Rigorous Academic Preparedness
- Opportunity Knowledge
- Student Agency
- Insist on Rigor
- Break Down Barriers
- Align the Work
- Advocate for Students
Extend Your Learning
- The Five Phases of the Focused Note-Taking Process (AVID)
- ChatGPT (OpenAI)
- Gemini (Google)
- Copilot (Microsoft)
- NotebookLM (Google)