Applying the Science of Learning in Your Teaching: Generative AI May Help
For most instructors, a conscious application of the Science of Learning (SoL) can significantly improve student learning in their classes.
Some SoL-informed strategies are straightforward and easy to implement, but others may require some time and effort to develop and use consistently throughout the semester. Here is where generative AI may be able to actually help you.
In their recent paper, Using AI to Implement Effective Teaching Strategies in Classrooms: Five Strategies, Including Prompts [1], Ethan and Lilach Mollick offer “guidance for using AI to quickly and easily implement evidence-based teaching strategies that instructors can integrate into their teaching. [They] discuss five teaching strategies that have proven value but are hard to implement in practice due to time and effort constraints [and] show how AI can help instructors create material that supports these strategies and improve student learning.” The strategies include:
- providing multiple examples and explanations;
- uncovering and addressing student misconceptions;
- frequent low-stakes testing;
- assessing student learning;
- and distributed (spaced) practice.”
The paper also includes suggested prompts that you can input directly into your Generative AI platform of choice – to generate examples, and to create questions for students.
[1] Mollick, Ethan R. and Mollick, Lilach, Using AI to Implement Effective Teaching Strategies in Classrooms: Five Strategies, Including Prompts (March 17, 2023). Available at SSRN: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4391243
Additional Resources
For background and additional information on applying the science of learning in your teaching and course design, see:
- TLL pages:
- Helping students retain, organize and integrate knowledge which includes detailed descriptions of 5 teaching practices you can use to support students’ enduring learning: ascertaining & leveraging prior knowledge, retrieval practice, self-explanation, spaced practice, & inter-leaving.
- Worked Examples
- Open Learning’s page on Research-based Learning Findings includes pages on active learning, retrieval practice, and spaced- & inter-leaved practice.
- Deans for Impact (2015). The Science of Learning. Austin, TX: Deans for Impact.
Look for an upcoming post on rethinking your student assignments and assessments to leverage generative AI.