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Physics~15 min read

Practice Assignments with Structured AI Support

Faculty
Jeff Loats, Metropolitan State University of Denver · jloats1@msudenver.edu
Course
Physics of Nature
Level
Undergraduate, General Studies

Faculty Reflection

In designing these Practice Assignments, I wanted to solve a fundamental challenge: how can students use generative AI to genuinely enhance their learning without it becoming a crutch that prevents actual understanding? The three-step structure emerged from recognizing that the key to learning is repetition with feedback. By forcing students to first attempt problems independently, then explicitly seek help (whether from AI, peers, or instructors), and finally reflect on what changed in their understanding, students develop both physics knowledge and metacognitive awareness. The [FLAG] system ensures I can provide targeted feedback on the most meaningful learning moments while keeping grading sustainable. Students consistently report that this structure helps them distinguish between problems they truly understand versus ones where they're just following steps.

What Students Create

Weekly practice assignments demonstrating conceptual physics understanding through a three-step process: independent attempt, getting help (including strategic AI use), and reflective revision with flagged responses for instructor feedback.

Why This Assignment Matters

Students learn to use AI as a learning tool rather than an answer generator, developing both physics reasoning skills and metacognitive awareness of their own learning process. The structured approach ensures repetition with feedback—the foundation of genuine learning.

Materials

Assignment Instructions

The first thing you will do in each Practice Assignment is check a few boxes at the top to indicate how the assignment has gone so far, and how you got help in Part 2. On this first pass, that is just the box saying this is your first submission.

The boxes look like this:

Canvas multiple-answer question worth 0 points, headed "Check all of the following that apply to this Practice Assignment #7 submission." Seven checkboxes follow: (1) This is my first submission on this Practice Assignment. (2) This is a re-submission. I had the wrong idea on 3 or more items in my first submission and then I got help on those, as indicated below. For at least 3 of the initially incorrect questions I have put "[FLAG]" at the start of the explanations and then described what I learned and/or why I changed my answer. (3) This is a re-submission. I had the wrong idea on 2 or fewer items in my first submission and then I got help on those, as indicated below. I have put "[FLAG]" at the start of 3 item explanations. For questions I initially got wrong, I have described what I learned. For others I have added details about why I think the item was difficult or interesting. (4) After my first submission, I got help from Prof. Loats. (5) After my first submission, I got help from other people, such as classmates, friends, family, etc. (6) After my first submission, I got help by using a Learning Prompt and a generative AI tool. (7) After my first submission, I learned more using passive resources like websites, videos or textbooks.

Give yourself at least a few minutes on each question, but not too much time (don't spend more than 30 minutes total). Answer each question and describe your reasoning, if you can. If you find that you are just guessing, just say so. You will be able to view your responses later.

Be sure to get this first pass done several days before the Practice Assignment is due.

AI Permissions

None. This step is about discovering what you actually know without any external help. No AI, no resources beyond your own thinking. If you're guessing, say so—that's valuable information.

Why no help on the first pass?

Learners need a grounded view of what they do and don't understand at the start. Getting help at the start (from people or GenAI) will hide the real gaps in understanding, leading to the illusion of learning.

How I make it worth doing

The first pass is a formative assessment, purely there as a diagnostic for the learner and a baseline for the instructor. Getting learners to engage with these ahead of time is tough, I've found that repeated reminders by me in class, calendar reminders in Canvas, and an Announcement for the first few times is mostly enough. If students do only the first pass by the due date, I am generous with offering/insisting that they do step 2 and step 3 (for full credit).

What to keep if you adapt this

In my model, nearly all questions are Canvas fill-in-the-blank questions with dropdown choices followed by a free response field for which any text counts as correct. Converting questions to that structure can be weird, but it means that Canvas gives students an accurate read on what they got right or wrong, which I think is key. If instructor grading is needed after the first pass, I think this probably won't work.

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How It’s Graded

The points you earn on Practice Assignments come from having done the three-step process. For the questions that you specifically [FLAG], I will read about your process and offer some feedback.

My honest expectation is that you will get nearly full credit on Practice Assignments, unless you skip some of the steps, or leave some questions with wrong answers. If you submit the assignment without engaging in all three steps, you will lose at least 5 out of 10.

Practice Assignments count for 10% of your total grade.

Learning Prompts

Use prompts like these with generative AI (LLMs) to enhance your learning, rather than losing out on the chance to improve.

Semi-Socratic Tutor

This will really push you to be the one driving the learning. It won't give you answers and will always be asking you to think and explain. The downside is that this can be frustrating if you are really stuck.

Adapted from openNCCC, I worked with Google Gemini to draft this and then edited it to add context.

I'm taking a college-level conceptual physics course called Physics of Nature. The course focuses heavily on concepts ideas, with minimal calculation and heavy use of proportional reasoning. You are my conceptual physics tutor. Ask me one question at a time and help me learn by guiding my thinking (Socratic style). Don't give me the final answer. Start by asking what topic or question I'm working on and what I already understand. Then explain using simple examples/analogies and keep checking my understanding with questions. If I'm stuck, give a small hint and ask the next question. At the end, ask me to explain the idea in my own words.

Misconception Hunting Tutor

This comes from years of research on the idea that confronting misconceptions is key to learning new ideas, especially in physics.

I worked with Google Gemini to draft this prompt and then edited it.

I'm taking a college-level conceptual physics course called Physics of Nature. The course focuses heavily on concepts ideas, with minimal calculation and heavy use of proportional reasoning. You are my conceptual physics tutor and your job is to help me find any misconceptions behind my confusion. Ask 2-4 short diagnostic questions (one at a time). After each answer, tell me what it suggests I'm misunderstanding. Then give a short explanation that directly fixes that misconception, plus one quick "check" question. First, ask me what question I am working on.