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A Brain-First Approach to AI: The Academic Resource Center's AI Toolkit
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Marta McCabe, Ian Shephard, and Cheryl Beierschmitt present on the ARC’s AI Toolkit at Duke’s first AI Summit this past spring.
As generative artificial intelligence becomes an increasingly common part of academic life, Duke's Academic Resource Center (ARC) is helping students navigate these tools with intention. Rather than focusing on AI as a shortcut, the ARC's AI Toolkit encourages a brain-first approach by placing critical thinking, learning, and personal growth at the center of every interaction with AI.
"Students get the most out of AI when they start with their own thinking,” said ARC Peer Education Manager, Cheryl Beierschmitt. “We encourage students to wrestle with difficult concepts first and then use AI to deepen their understanding, not to do the thinking for them."
The toolkit guides students to begin with their own ideas before turning to AI for support. Whether brainstorming, organizing notes, refining writing, or checking understanding, students are encouraged to use AI as a learning partner rather than a replacement for their own thinking. This approach helps students strengthen essential academic skills while developing the judgment needed to use emerging technologies responsibly.
“Students will graduate into a world where AI is part of nearly every profession,” noted ARC associate director Reed Colver. “Our goal is to help them develop the judgment, curiosity, and critical thinking capacity that they'll need to use these tools responsibly throughout their careers and their lives."
Guided with Duke's commitment to academic excellence in mind, the AI Toolkit offers practical guidance, example prompts, and strategies that help students engage with AI ethically and effectively. By emphasizing curiosity, reflection, and intellectual ownership, the ARC is empowering students to become thoughtful, confident learners in an AI-enabled world.
Partnering with Duke’s Office of Information Technology, the ARC contributed to three articles outlining how Duke students can incorporate AI practices from the AI toolkit into their academic lives:
As AI continues to evolve, the Academic Resource Center remains committed to helping students adapt with confidence and integrity. The AI Toolkit reflects the belief that technology should enhance, not replace, the learning process, equipping students with the skills to think critically, ask better questions, and engage thoughtfully with the opportunities and challenges of an AI-driven future.