Ask an "expert" AI tutor

This Bento Box engages students to create, use and evaluate a simulated generative artificial intelligence tutor (AI-tutor) to learn about a topic suggested by the educator. The AI-tutor generates a dialogue of open-ended questions, hints, and tailored explanations for the students to build on their current understanding.  After interacting with the AI-tutor, students are guided to reflect on their experience, and finally discuss with their peers the opportunities and challenges of using AI as a tutor for their studies.

Students are provided with a prompt based on Mollick & Mollick (2024).

Ask an "expert" AI- tutor	Contains:	Content to prepare:
	Learning activity description for students Task 1: Use AI responsibly as a Monash student Task 2: Create an AI tutor (provided prompt) Task 3: Engage with the AI tutor (Microsoft Copilot) Task 4: Evaluate your experience (H5P) Task 5: Discuss with your peers (Forum)	Specific topics or areas of focus for students to explore with the AI-tutor
Estimated time to set up: 10 minutes

Key pedagogical principles

Bento Boxes are grounded in constructivist learning theory, where students build their own understanding through active engagement and interaction.

• Inclusive design: AI technology supports diverse learners by offering multiple representations (text, examples, analogies). Students can interact with either text or audio accommodating different communication preferences, aligned with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles.
• Student agency and self-regulation: Students set goals, monitor AI responses for accuracy and bias, and reflect on their learning process, promoting metacognitive awareness and ownership of their learning.
• Critical AI literacy: Students learn to evaluate AI outputs, identify strengths and limitations, and apply principles of responsible AI use in educational contexts.
• Dialogic learning: AI-student dialogue fosters conceptual growth; peer discussion promotes critical comparison of experiences and collaborative meaning-making.
• Scaffolded inquiry: A structured “Bento Box” framework guides students through a series of tasks and prompts supporting critical evaluation of the AI generated responses.

Explore this Bento in Action

Instructions to set up your Bento Box

	Prepare content Identify specific topics or areas of focus for students to explore with the AI-tutor. These should be topics that students have some prior knowledge about so that they can engage with the AI-tutor meaningfully. Consider what might be explored with the Gen AI-tutor specific to your discipline, industry or professional role.
	Update the learning activity overview Change the name and overview of the activity so it aligns with the topic of the week. Outline connections to learning outcomes or assessment tasks to make the purpose of the activity clear to students.
	Update Task 3: Engage with your AI-tutor Based on step 1 preparation, specify the topics or tasks to guide students' efforts.
	Engage in the forum discussion Review student posts, provide feedback, and prompt deeper critical evaluation (e.g., accuracy, bias, usefulness, and how they validated the AI output).