We designed an AI tutor that helps college students reason rather than give them answers
We designed an AI tutor that helps college students reason rather than give them answers
Publish Date: 2026-03-05 08:46:00
Source Domain: theconversation.com
Students using AI to cheat on homework or tests is a source of much discussion. But some scholars argue the greater risk of students using AI is that they will simply not learn.
Approximately 90% of 1,100 U.S. students surveyed at two-year and four-year colleges in 2025 reported using generative AI for everything from drafting assignments to clarifying complex concepts.
But when students use AI as a tutor or study partner, not as an immediate answer generator, does it make it easier or harder for them to learn?
We are economists who tried to answer this question by designing an AI tool using ChatGPT’s custom GPT feature, with the web access of the chatbot disabled.
We named the tool Macro Buddy and trained it to guide some students at one of our undergraduate macroeconomics classes at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, through their reasoning rather than giving them direct answers.
We found in our research, conducted in spring 2025, that students who used Macro Buddy, alongside peer discussion, earned higher exam scores than students who worked alone, without this AI tutor.
College students are increasingly using AI to help them with their studies.
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One of our macroeconomics courses enrolled 140 undergraduate students, mostly in their first or second year of college, divided across four sections.
Students’ course materials, assignments and exams were identical across all four sections. Students were generally not allowed to use AI tools or collaborate with classmates during exams. Students took all tests in person and were not allowed to reference any notes or other materials during the exam.
As a result, exam scores reflected what students understood and could explain on their own – without the help of AI or any other outside source.
After all students took their first exam, we randomly assigned the four…
