Austin Scholar #60: Why (And How) Your Kid Should Use AI to Study

& The Five Best Ways I’ve Been Using ChatGPT to Study for My APs

Hey, y'all!

I bet my parents never thought that they'd have a daughter whose favorite study partner is a robot.

But that's literally true. I'm using ChatGPT to study for my AP exams (and basically everything else), and it's made my study time way faster and more efficient.

It can make your kids' studying more efficient, too.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

This week from Austin Scholar...

1. Austin’s Anecdote: Why (And How) Your Kid Should Use AI to Study

2. The Five Best Ways I’ve Been Using ChatGPT to Study for My APs

3. Scholar’s Sources: My Favorite Twitter Accounts Covering AI

It’s been a pretty rough week. My little sister was in the hospital for over 24 hours for a ruptured ovarian cyst. That wasn’t fun. I’ve also been taking a lot of practice AP tests–and it’s just sunk in that there are only three weeks left until the exams. Overall, I’ve been extremely stressed, but I still had a lot of fun writing this newsletter :)

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Austin’s Anecdote: Why (And How) Your Kid Should Use AI to Study

I study for my APs almost exclusively with ChatGPT.

I feel so lucky to be living right now–when this is possible. Technology is improving so rapidly, and it’s allowing anyone to do … anything, basically.

And let’s be real: the kids that are going to succeed in the future are the kids who know how to use these AI tools like ChatGPT. 

AI makes both academic and real-world skills suddenly easy to learn. You can use AI to learn how to start a business, learn to copywrite, bounce ideas to draft movie scripts, build programming skills–and that's just the start of the list.

Instead of restricting the use of ChatGPT or ignoring the fact that it exists, you need to teach your kids how to use it to their advantage. A great place to start is teaching your kid how to use AI to get a 5 on their upcoming APs. (That’s what I’m currently doing, and I’m getting a crash course on using AI in the process).

Here are the five ways I’ve been using ChatGPT to study for my APs (that your kid should totally steal):

1. Create a learning plan

A learning plan is a written step-by-step plan on how to become an expert in a topic. To create a learning plan, you choose a subject or concept, then create smaller categories that make up all the things you must learn in order to fully understand the topic. Next, choose methods of learning to attain these goals, which can be books, videos, articles, etc. Finally, set an objective test to pass to prove that you’ve sufficiently mastered your concept.

A learning plan should be detailed enough so that if you give it to someone who knows nothing about that topic, they will be able to follow your step-by-step plan to become an expert. 

For example: I am currently struggling with AP Physics. I used ChatGPT to create a learning plan to ensure I get a 5 on the AP.

(There were more categories, but I didn’t include them in the picture.)

Learning plans are important because they allow you to create your own customized path to mastery and success in a test. ChatGPT can compile all the categories, and helps you clearly see all of the topics that you need to understand. And it can provide resources, so you don’t have to waste time figuring out where to start.

Knowing how to make learning plans isn’t just limited to studying for tests. Your kid will be learning and mastering skills for the rest of their life, and knowing how to create a learning plan will put them dramatically ahead of their peers. 

The ChatGPT prompt: Create a learning plan on [SUBJECT]. Include the main categories I will need to learn and what I can study to master them. Include YouTube channels and videos, articles, and practice problems.

2. Talk to experts

Once you have a learning plan, you’re still going to have questions–and who better to answer these questions than the experts themselves?

You can ask ChatGPT to roleplay anyone you want. For example, you can ask it to be Richard Feynman and explain the circular motion equations (I just did, and here’s what I got):

Or, you might want to ask ChatGPT to be President Lyndon B. Johnson and explain the Great Society:

Having your kid talk to an expert (instead of just reading off a random website) is so much more engaging and exciting to them–which also makes them more interested in learning.

The prompt: You’re [EXPERT]. Explain [CONCEPT] as they would.

3. Prepare for tests

There are so many different websites, study guides, flashcards, and practice questions out there to help with test prep. But, it can be hard to compile all of the information into one place, and that’s exactly what you can do with ChatGPT.

First, ask ChatGPT to write the topics that you would need to learn to understand the content in the test.

The prompt: I am taking [EXAM]. Craft me a study guide with all major topics that could be covered on this exam.

From there, ask for more details.

The prompt: For every bullet, add a 2-4 sentence summary of the [event/topic/equation] and why it’s important.

That’s your study guide.

Finally, ask ChatGPT to ask you questions based on the study guide. You can also prompt it with more specific instructions: “If I get it correct, tell me how my answer could’ve been better, and if I get it incorrect, try to guide me to the right answer.” Or, ask ChatGPT to ask you questions in the style of that specific test (in my case, the UTHS credit-by-examination).

The prompt: Ask me questions about the topics on the study guide in the style of [TEST]. Wait for my responses and tell me if I am correct or incorrect.

There you go! A completely personalized and interactive study guide.

4. Explain concepts in new ways

If you really want to personalize (and internalize) your learning, you have to make it relevant.

For example, I can ask ChatGPT to relate statistical significance to Taylor Swift. ChatGPT can find the connection between the two things, which makes it easier for me to remember what I’m learning (because while stats alone might be boring, Taylor Swift stats are cool).

Whenever I get stuck on any question in AP Stats–or if I’m reviewing a practice exam and going through the questions I got wrong–I ask ChatGPT to relate it to something I care about.

The prompt: Explain what [TOPIC] is by using [INTEREST] as an example.

5. Engage in debate

This is such a powerful one–especially for writing essays–because, of course, the best way to build up an argument is to debate it.

For example, when I’m reading a passage for AP Literature, I might say that the authorial intent in Mary Oliver’s The Black Snake is that life goes on after death. But, there are obviously other interpretations of this poem.

So, I could ask ChatGPT to argue that my interpretation isn’t correct–and that there’s a different, more evidence-backed meaning of the poem. Then, we can have an “evidence battle,” in which we each collect evidence for our interpretation and explain how and why we are correct.

By the time we’re done, I will have effectively written an entire essay with all of my evidence and analysis–and I’ll have such a deeper understanding of the poem.

The prompt: [OPINION/INTERPRETATION/THESIS STATEMENT]. Argue against that point. Then, wait for me to respond with evidence, then continue with counterarguments, and so on.

Parents: this new world of AI can be absolutely terrifying, but it’s here to stay–and there’s a lot of power in it. If you learn to work with it, AI can give your kid opportunities they couldn’t have had even a handful of years ago. And since you’re preparing them for a world full of AI, their ability to use it will make a huge difference in setting them up for success!

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Scholar’s Sources: My Favorite Twitter Accounts Covering AI

If you want to dive into the world of AI, check out these Twitter accounts:

1. Zain Kahn

2. Rob Lennon

3. Hassan W. Bhatti

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Thanks for reading. Go crush the week! See y'all on Sunday.