Foster deep reading and critical thinking with Active Highlighting Assignments, where students respond to instructor-led questions by highlighting supporting evidence, engaging in guided dialogue with the AI academic coach, and composing thoughtful written responses.
Step 1: Readings
In the first step you are asked to select the relevant reading material and set the assignment type.
1. Reading Material
- From Library: Use the dropdown to select a reading from your course’s library.
- Upload Your Own: Click the Upload button to add a PDF (max 100MB, up to 100 pages).
2. Assignment Type
Active Highlighting: In this assignment, students will identify supporting evidence for each question and engage in analytical discussions with the AI coach and / or compose a written response. The AI coach guides students through the analysis process, helping them develop their responses.
3. AI Academic Coach Settings
The 'Academic Coach' is part of Alethea's structured reading assignments. The coach assists students after they've read the assigned text and highlighted supporting evidence. The coach reviews the highlights created by the student in light of the question at hand and asks the student leading questions regarding the highlights. The conversation can result in an AI generated answer based on the student's responses.
- Enable with Discussion-Based Answers: AI generates answers based on student interaction.
- Enable without Discussion-Based Answers: Students converse with the coach, but no final answer is generated.
- Disable: No AI coaching.
Step 2: Assignment
Title and Instructions
- Add a clear title.
- Optionally, include general instructions for your students.
AI Assistant
Want to see suggested questions regarding this reading?
Switch the 'AI Assistant' on. If you like, you can fine-tune the assistant's suggested questions by selecting the kind of questions you are looking for, the focus of the reading or the level of difficulty.
Don’t have a lot of time? No problem – the Instructor Assistant does not require any input.
- Question Type: Comprehension, analysis, interpretation, etc.
- Focus: Enter a theme or concept.
- Difficulty Level: Choose from basic to advanced.
- Click Generate Assignment to receive 3 suggested questions. You can adjust preferences anytime.
For a quick guide on how to use Alethea's AI Instructor Assistant see the video below:
Questions
1. Question Type
Select between 'Open ended', 'Find in text' and 'Multiple choice':
- Open Ended: Students highlight evidence and write a response.
- Find in Text: Students highlight evidence only.
- Multiple Choice: Students highlight evidence and select an answer.
2. Edit and Delete Questions
- Edit: Click inside the question field.
- Delete: Click the bin icon on the question card.
3. Points (Optional)
Grades and feedback are optional in Alethea. Assign point values if grading is enabled.
4. Additional Options (Optional)
- Highlight Supporting Evidence: Add your own highlights for comparison.
- Define Key Concepts: Track specific terms in student responses.
5. Add Questions
- Manual: Click Compose Question.
- AI-Generated: Turn on AI Assistant and click Generate Question.
Step 3: Publish
- Set Due Date: Click the calendar icon or type the date manually.
- Save as Draft to edit later.
- Click Publish to share with students.