Learning to Learn with AI – Guiding First-Semester Students through Reflection, Feedback, and Student-Centered Learning

Feat. external blog by ETH Zürich

“In this exploratory pilot we redesigned a learning element in the first-year course World Food System, where students are introduced to AI as part of their academic practice. Building on the outcomes of the POT-AI Innovedum project, we embedded structured reflection and self-assessment using the tool Rflect. Through guided reflection cycles, the redesign transforms the learning experience into a student-centered process that cultivates ownership, critical awareness, and continuous improvement through structured feedback and iterative goal development.”

What happens when you teach 1st-semester students to learn with AI — not just use it?

ETH Zürich redesigned a mandatory first-year course to embed critical AI use into academic practice from day one. Students didn’t just use AI tools: they reflected on them, questioned them, and learned to evaluate them.

“Through guided reflection cycles (in Rflect), the redesign transformed the learning experience into a student-centered process that cultivates ownership, critical awareness, and continuous improvement through structured feedback and iterative goal development.”

The results speak for themselves:

→ 95% of students completed all reflection cycles on time
→ Measurable gains in AI critical evaluation skills
→ Students reported a +1.34 point jump in their ability to critically assess AI output

“For the first time, I actively engaged with the influence of AI on my personal life — and was surprised how hard it was to answer certain questions honestly.”
— ETH Zurich student

Reflection wasn’t an add-on. It was the foundation. Structured, recurring, and scalable — across hundreds of students.

This pilot is now shaping ETH Zurich’s broader curriculum revision. We’re proud Rflect played a role in making it happen.

Read the full case study by our partners at ETH Zürich here.

Curious about partnering with Rflect to help your students critically reflect on their use of AI and learn with it in an effective, student-oriented way? Get in touch with us at info@rflect.ch.