Learn with AI
EM LYON – MAKERS LAB
Learn with AI
Samuel Boulery – 2026
The cognitive trap
Easy to read. Hard to remember.
The illusion
A text feels clear while you read it. That feeling tells you little about what you'll remember.
What works
Pulling information out of your head, without looking. It's called retrieval practice.
The risk with AI
It answers before you try. In a 2025 study, students who practised with a standard GPT-4 chat scored 17% lower on the exam than students with no AI.
The setup
Put the AI on rails
tinyurl.com/lwa26
Pro tip
Grounding reduces hallucinations. It doesn't remove them. That's why Phase 3 exists.
Task
- Open the link
- In the AI of your choice, upload "Study Smarter" and paste Prompt 1 in the same message
- File won't upload? Paste the text of the document into Prompt 1
The prompt
You are a study tutor for a university student. YOUR ONLY SOURCE Use the document attached to this message, or pasted at the end, and nothing else. - Answer only from this document. Do not search the web and do not add outside knowledge. - If the answer is not in the document, reply exactly: "This is not in the document." - Name the section every fact comes from. - Quote the document word for word, or not at all. Never invent a quote. HOW YOU ANSWER Keep your answers under 80 words. Ask one question at a time, then wait for my answer. Start an exercise only when I ask. If I ask you to quiz me or to play a role, stay inside this document. Reply "Ready" once you have read the whole document, and nothing else.
Full prompt: tinyurl.com/lwa26
Test it
Ask: "What does the document say about learning styles?" Correct answer: it's not in the document.
Phase 1: The Socratic tutor
Explain it before you're told
Mindset shift
Struggle helps when you eventually get there. Stuck for 2 minutes? Ask for a hint.
Goal
Define interleaving, and explain how it differs from spaced practice.
The prompt
EXERCISE: SOCRATIC TUTOR Topic: "Interleaving" (Section 3 of the document). My goal: define interleaving in my own words and explain how it differs from spaced practice. HOW YOU TEACH 1. Start by asking me what I think interleaving means. Ask one question at a time, then wait. 2. Do not give the definition before my third attempt. React to what I say instead. 3. When my answer is wrong or incomplete, give the next hint in this ladder, one per reply: Hint 1: tell me what is missing, without giving it. Hint 2: give an example from the document and ask me what it shows. Hint 3: ask me a yes or no question, or an either/or question. 4. Asking for the answer, or giving up, is not an attempt and does not move the ladder. Reply "Have a go first, even if you get it wrong." then repeat your last question or hint. 5. After my third real attempt, give the answer with a short quote from the document and its section number, then ask me to say it again in my own words. 6. When my definition is right and I have explained the difference with spaced practice, reply "Validated" and stop.
Full prompt: tinyurl.com/lwa26
Task
- Read Section 3 of the document (2 min)
- Close the document
- Paste Prompt 2 and explain interleaving to the AI (6 min)
Phase 2: Deep work
Disconnect
Why paper?
No tab to switch to. No AI to ask. Paper removes the escape route.
Goal
Lower your screens. Pen and paper.
Task (4 min, no AI, no document)
- In 1 or 2 sentences: what is interleaving, and how is it different from spaced practice?
- Write a 3-line study plan for a real course you have this month, using interleaving.
Phase 3: Verification
Catch the AI
The truth check
The AI gives feedback. The document decides.
Task 1
Type what you wrote on paper into Prompt 3. Exactly as written.
The prompt
EXERCISE: EXAMINER I wrote the text below from memory, without looking at the document. MY TEXT [paste your definition and your study plan here] YOUR TASK Judge my text against the document "Study Smarter" and nothing else. Do not search the web. 1. Split my text into separate claims. Label each one CORRECT, PARTLY CORRECT or WRONG. 2. Justify every label with one sentence copied word for word from the document, in quotation marks, with its section number. If you cannot find such a sentence, write "No supporting sentence" and leave that claim unjudged. 3. Look at my study plan. Does it use interleaving as defined in Section 3, spaced practice as defined in Section 2, or both? Justify with a quote. 4. Suggest one improvement to my plan, based on the document. Be strict and brief. No praise. Add nothing that is not in the document.
Full prompt: tinyurl.com/lwa26
Task 2
For each quote, press Ctrl+F and search 3 or 4 words in the document. Is the sentence there? Does it say what the AI claims?
Your turn
Use it on your own course
- Open a document from a course you have this month
- Upload it and paste Prompt 1
- Pick one mode below. Exchange at least 3 messages with the AI.
- Write the prompt you'll reuse on a post-it
1
Explain it back
Complex theory
“I'll explain [concept] as if to a 12-year-old. Point out every gap or error in my explanation. Don't rewrite it for me.”
2
Attack my argument
Essays and case answers
“Here is my argument: [...]. List the flaws you actually find, ranked by severity. If it holds, say so.”
3
The simulator
Oral exams, interviews, negotiations
“Roleplay as [a difficult client / an examiner / the opposing lawyer]. Open the scene and stay in role. No feedback, no corrections and no answers until I type the single word: debrief. If I ask before that, reply 'Debrief when you are ready.' and carry on with the scene.”
4
Break my analogy
Checking you really understand
“I'll explain [concept] with an analogy from my own life. Tell me where my analogy breaks.”
5
Quiz me
Reviewing facts before an exam
“Quiz me on the document. One question at a time. Wait for my answer, then tell me if I'm right and why.”
AI is the gym.You lift the weights.
- Tomorrow: close your notes and write down what you remember from today.
- In 3 days: do it again.
Everything from today stays here.
tinyurl.com/lwa26