
Dr. Yusen Zhai joins host, Dr. Marty Jencius to talk about AI, faculty adoption, and looking at student properties as predicted by AI models.
Yusen's tips
1. Treat the chatbot like a person/RA and converse naturally. He "talk[s] with chat bots as [he'd] talk with a real person," using it like a research or graduate assistant.
2. Don't expect a full answer from a one-sentence prompt-ask it to work step by step. He explicitly says: "I will go step by step. Let's work on this step by step."
3. Ask for clarification when you don't understand something. Example: "I don't understand this concept. Can you clarify for me?"
4. Provide more instructions and iterate; don't treat it like a one-shot search. He contrasts vague asks with giving further instructions and then proceeding step by step.
5. Fact-check what it returns-especially on niche questions. He always verifies answers and consults other sources when something "doesn't add up."
6. Work collaboratively and refine with follow-ups. He uses it to get an initial list (e.g.,"10 articles..") and then asks further questions to drill down and clarify.
7. Use it to plan teaching tasks with its own step-by-step walkthroughs (e.g., outlines and class activities) and request engagement ideas.
8. (Optional technique) Give it a persona/background for simulations (e.g., client role-plays) to practice unlimitedly before real sessions.
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