My ideology of an AI Tutor as an international student in the UK. By Netra Pulee, MBA student, Leeds Beckett University.
You may not have an answer to every question, but sometimes, finding the right question is where learning begins.
As an international student coming to the UK from India for higher studies, there are plenty of narratives about cultural and weather differences, along with solutions to help navigate them. But what stands out amongst all is the difference in educational and learning expectations.
One of my first learnings after attending the initial induction sessions at my university was the importance of practicing reflections. This learning has stayed with me to this day, and I am grateful to have understood it better through mentorship sessions with my professors and supervisors throughout my academic tenure. More importantly, my university experience made me realise that learning is not simply about finding the right answer. It is about questioning, evaluating, reflecting, and developing the ability to think independently. This realisation gradually developed as I worked on assignments, participated in discussions, and acted on feedback.
Having said so, no matter how gracefully I tried to adapt to a new learning system, I could always feel the time ticking, with one deadline following another. Between understanding the fundamentals, completing assignments, and engaging in self-directed learning, I sometimes found myself looking for ways to discuss, question, and test my understanding beyond the classroom.
Beyond the classroom, when human support was not immediately available, I naturally turned to technology – AI, as it was accessible, immediate, and seemed capable of answering almost every question I had. But then I wondered: if I can simply ask an AI a question and get an answer within seconds, am I actually learning, or am I just finding a quicker way to complete a task? This is where my perception of AI started to change. Everyone speaks about making the best use of AI. So, instead of seeing it as a source of instant answers, why not use it as a virtual tutor that complements a human tutor when human support is not available?
As a graduate now, my idea of an AI tutor complementing a human tutor would be:
- Someone who would ask thought-provoking questions rather than simply give answers:
What if an AI tutor could help me think my way towards a solution? What if it encouraged me to think and question, rather than simply responding?
I would value the idea of AI drawing the thinking out of me instead of simply giving me the answer. Questions such as, “What do you think is happening here?”, “Why do you think this is the case?”, and “What assumption are you making?” could encourage me to think more deeply and form the basis of a Socratic dialogue.
- Create a digital mentor-student experience
Acknowledging the fact that the phygital experience – the combination of physical and digital interaction – can go a long way, what if AI could create a digital experience that complements the mentor-student relationship when physical presence is unavailable?
It would not replace the conversations I have with a human mentor. Instead, it could provide a space to think, explore, and make mistakes before taking those thoughts into a real conversation.
- Be a companion in exploring different topics and academic modules as I build my understanding
As a university student, learning rarely happens in separate boxes. One topic can lead to another, and sometimes understanding one concept means exploring something completely different. An AI tutor moving with the learner across different subjects, rather than being limited to one topic, could make learning and exploration easier and more interesting.
- Help me become a more confident learner
How great would it be if I could evolve as a learner and gain confidence in asking more thoughtful questions to my human mentors, without hesitation or lack of confidence?
Instead of AI becoming the final destination for my questions, it could help me develop better questions to take back to my human mentors.
That, to me, would be a much more meaningful role for AI in education.
- Connect me back to my university
But most importantly, here is where I say that the tutor should complement the current learning system. Isn’t it a great idea to encourage the use of AI to build a stronger relationship with one’s own university services and facilities?
An AI tutor could potentially help a student discover and make better use of the resources already available within the university – whether that is the library, careers service, academic support, student societies, workshops, or other facilities.
In that sense, the AI tutor becomes a bridge and signposts the students to connect with university services from time to time.
As a professor once mentioned, and something that will stick with me beyond university life :”Embrace the five-year-old child within you”
In simple words, it means being curious, embracing opportunities, asking questions, and understanding the ‘why’ behind things.
Long story short, I would definitely like the idea of such an AI tutor – one that helps keep that inner child alive.
Perhaps the role of an AI tutor is not to give me the answer, but to help me discover the answer myself.
Yet, it is very important to acknowledge the risks associated with this idea. In my personal view, an AI tutor should never replace a human tutor. No matter how useful it may seem to interact with an AI tutor, the value of real human interaction should always be prioritised.
After all, education is not just about finding answers. It is a pathway to build a meaningful career and thrive in a societal environment with real human beings and real emotions.
My idea of an AI tutor is like that of a ‘catalyst’. A catalyst does not perform the reaction for you. It just creates the conditions for the reaction to happen more effectively.
I visualise an AI tutor as a tool that is not giving me the answers directly, but leaving me with better questions than the ones I started with. Maybe its real value is in helping me to stay curious and make progress.