Learning With GenAI - How Much is Too Much?

At the end of this section, you should be able to reflect on your own learning habits and develop approaches to use GenAI intentionally and effectively.

Now that you’ve seen how intentional learning builds on active learning and moves beyond passive consumption, it’s time to look inward.

GenAI can be a powerful and personalized learning tool, but only when used purposefully. It’s up to you to pause, reflect, and take ownership of how you engage with it.

Practicing double-loop learning means going beyond quick, surface-level answers. It involves examining the reasoning behind your choices and asking questions like:

• When and why do I choose to use GenAI?
• Do I use it it to think with me or instead of me?
• Do I challenge the answers it gives, or accept them without question?
• Is GenAI helping me think more critically, or just helping me get the job done?

The goal isn’t to avoid GenAI; it’s to develop strategies that keep you in control of your learning while still benefiting from what GenAI can offer.

Begin by reflecting on your learning habits. This short questionnaire will help you identify your patterns of GenAI use, spot risks of overreliance, and adopt approaches that strengthen critical thinking, reflection, and deep learning.

Reflect on Your GenAI Learning Habits

As learning with GenAI becomes more prevalent, the ability to think critically has never been more important.

Critical thinking goes beyond recalling facts or making decisions based on intuition or anecdotal evidence. It is "an intentional, reflective process of analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information to make reasoned judgments or solve problems" ¹. In other words, it's about digging deeper—questioning assumptions, identifying patterns, and considering different viewpoints - making judgments and solving problems based on sound reasoning. 

For example, when writing an essay on climate change, it's not enough to simply present facts. Thinking critically means sorting through scientific data, political viewpoints, and ethical considerations, then weaving them together into a clear, well-reasoned stance.

When applied to GenAI, critical thinking becomes even more essential. Used thoughtfully, GenAI can help extend your reasoning in two key ways:

1. Pushing AI beyond surface-level tasks: Asking it to reason, explain, or explore multiple perspectives helps you actively practice analyzing, comparing, and questioning ideas—while staying in control of your learning.

2. Approaching AI with curiosity and skepticism: Interrogating the information it provides moves you beyond passive consumption toward deeper understanding.

Whenever you use GenAI, pause to ask yourself:

• Is this information accurate, biased, or incomplete?
• What are the assumptions behind this argument?
• What evidence supports or contradicts this idea?
• How can I apply this insight in new or unfamiliar contexts?

In academic settings, critical thinking is the foundation of deep learning. It helps you move beyond surface-level understanding by challenging assumptions, engaging multiple perspectives, and making meaningful connections. When working with GenAI, remember, it’s your reflective engagement with the tool, not the tool itself, that strengthens your thinking.

One effective way to strengthen your critical thinking when using GenAI is to level up your prompts with Bloom’s Taxonomy, a framework that organizes cognitive skills from basic recall to complex creation. 

Instead of asking GenAI to 'define' or 'summarize', use Bloom’s action verbs to encourage more complex thinking. Try prompts that ask GenAI to:

• Analyze a case study
• Evaluate competing arguments
• Compare different perspectives
• Design a new solution
• Create an alternative approach

For example, rather than asking it to “Define photosynthesis,” try:
 “Compare two theories of photosynthesis and evaluate which explains plant adaptation better.”

This approach helps GenAI generate richer more thought provoking responses, keeping you actively engaged and sharpening your own reasoning in the process.

In short, if you're using GenAI to learn, you need to develop a probing mindset, one that questions, explores and reflects.

Hotspot Activity: Practice Thinking Across Levels

Click on each hotspot below to explore how you can use GenAI to strengthen your thinking across different levels of learning, from remembering to creating. By prompting GenAI to analyze, evaluate, or synthesize, you’ll receive more meaningful responses and train yourself to think more critically about them.

TIP: The risk of overreliance on GenAI is highest at the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, where tasks tend to be more passive. At the higher levels, deeper, more meaningful engagement and reflection are required. Choosing your verbs wisely helps you move beyond surface learning and develop stronger critical thinking skills.

Source: This Bloom’s Image by Rawia Inaim, based on Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning, is licensed under a CC BY-SA (Attribution ShareAlike) license

These strategies will help you offload cognitive tasks in ways that support, rather than undermine, your learning.