Studying with AI

Generative AI can be helpful for: 

• Explaining concepts using different perspectives or levels of sophistication  
• Generating practice questions in addition to those found in your textbooks or provided by your instructor 
• Brainstorming ideas and approaches to assignments 
• Making a study plan for exams 
• Supporting planning, organization, and time management 
• Providing feedback on drafts and study materials 
• Identifying areas for further review or clarification 

We caution you to avoid using AI in ways that bypass the intellectual work necessary for learning, such as relying on AI-generated responses instead of trying to develop your own understanding, analysis, or problem-solving skills first.  

You are responsible for evaluating the accuracy and quality of AI-generated content. Generative AI tools may produce inaccurate, incomplete, biased, or misleading information. For example, one common way that AI produces incomplete and biased information is by overlooking research conducted by international scholars and only presenting information from research done by US-based scholars. Also remember that AI does not know the full context of your course, your instructor’s specific focus or priorities, and other details that might impact the usefulness or accuracy of the information generated by AI on any given topic.  

You should verify information provided by AI using your course materials or other high-quality scholarly publications found through the Penn Library website or other academic databases. You can also seek guidance from your instructors on how to critically evaluate the quality of sources or the accuracy of information provided by AI, or any other alternative source.  

Before accepting AI-generated output, you should ask yourself: 

• Do other academic sources agree with this information? 
• How does this align with what I have learned in class? 
• Do I understand the explanation being provided? 
• Can I explain this concept or solve this problem independently? 
• Are there any important voices or perspectives that might be missing in AI’s overview of this concept? 
• Is the information provided appropriate for a college-level course? 

Expectations regarding AI use vary across courses, instructors, disciplines, and assignments. You are responsible for understanding and adhering to all applicable University, departmental, and course-specific policies. For each of your classes, make sure to prioritize the AI use guidance provided by the instructor for that specific course.  

When expectations are unclear, you are responsible for seeking clarification from your instructor(s) before using AI tools for coursework. 

For more information on University of Pennsylvania’s community guidelines for using AI, visit the ISC website.

Learning often involves uncertainty, challenge, and productive struggle. While AI may offer quick answers, growth and skill development occur through grappling with difficult concepts, practicing new strategies, making mistakes, and revising one’s work. In other words, deep, enduring learning requires repetition, effort, and time. To ensure that you are staying in control of your learning and able to be discerning about your use of AI, we encourage you to build your schedule thoughtfully, in such a way that allows time for the necessary ingredients in the learning process: regular practice, repetition, and productive struggle.  

We encourage you to pause frequently to reflect on whether AI is truly helping you learn or simply allowing you to bypass time-consuming but necessary steps to complete a task without critically engaging in the material. This act of reflecting on your learning is called “metacognition” and is a critical skill for all learners. 

To read more about metacognition and the importance of productive struggle for effective learning, check out our Weingarten Center post Easy Come, Easy Go.