An AI tutor is software that uses artificial intelligence, typically a large language model, to explain concepts, answer questions, give feedback and quiz a learner in a conversational, one-to-one way.
How it works
Most modern AI tutors are built on large language models that generate text in response to your questions. A general-purpose chatbot answers from what it learned during training. A study-focused AI tutor usually adds structure: it can work from the documents you upload, keep track of your course, generate questions and give feedback on your answers. Tutors grounded in your own material are generally more relevant to your course and easier to verify, because you can check the answer against the source.
AI tutors are most useful for things that are hard to get from a textbook: an explanation pitched at your level, a different example when the first one did not click, and immediate feedback on your reasoning.
How to use an AI tutor well (steps)
- Give it your material. Upload or select the notes, slides or readings for your course so answers match what you are studying.
- Try first. Attempt the question or explanation yourself before asking. This keeps retrieval practice in your hands.
- Ask why and how. Use the tutor for elaborative interrogation: “Why does this happen?” “How is this different from that?”
- Teach it back. Explain a concept to the tutor and ask it to point out gaps, a digital version of the Feynman technique.
- Ask to be quizzed. Request questions on a topic and answer them before reading feedback.
- Verify. Check important facts against your course material.
- Finish without help. End each session by recalling the main points on your own.
Evidence
Benjamin Bloom’s 1984 paper “The 2 Sigma Problem” reported that students tutored one-to-one performed far better than students taught in conventional classes, and challenged researchers to find scalable methods that could match tutoring. VanLehn’s 2011 review in Educational Psychologist compared human tutoring with computer tutoring systems and found that step-based intelligent tutoring systems were nearly as effective as human tutors in the studies reviewed. Research on large-language-model tutors is newer and still developing, and results depend heavily on how the tool is designed and used. The safest evidence-based approach is to use AI tutors in ways that support well-established strategies such as retrieval practice and self-explanation, rather than as answer machines.
Using an AI tutor with Duetoday
Galileo is Duetoday’s AI tutor. It answers from the lectures, PDFs, slides and YouTube videos you have added, so explanations match your course. Ask Galileo to explain a concept, check your reasoning, or quiz you, then turn what you learn into flashcards with spaced repetition or a practice test.
