The Summary Experiment
Assignment: The Summary Experiment
Reading and summarizing (Week 1)
Overview
We are conducting a collaborative classroom study on digital literacy and cognitive load. You aren’t just students; you are the test subjects and the lead researchers. In this assignment, you will explore how different methods of summarizing texts may influence the way we process information.
Learning objectives
- Practice summarizing academic texts.
- Compare AI-generated content with human-generated writing.
- Reflect on the relationship between reading speed, writing, and comprehension.
Steps
- Article A (AI-assisted summary)
- Goal: Efficiency and basic understanding
- Instructions:
- Read “Article A” to get the general gist of the content. You do not need to annotate heavily; simply read for a general understanding.
- Open Google Gemini and use it to generate a summary of the article’s main points.
- The Prompt: You may use the following prompt or adjust it slightly: “Summarize the main argument and key supporting points of this article in 100-200 words.”
- Important: Do not revise the AI summary content. You may fix formatting or obvious glitches, but do not rewrite it in your own voice.
- Save: Copy the AI-generated summary and the exact prompt you used into a document.
- Article B (Human-written summary)
- Goal: Close reading and synthesis
- Instructions:
- Read “Article B” carefully. Feel free to annotate or take notes as you read to help you keep track of the author’s main ideas.
- Write your own summary of the article’s main points (approx. 100–200 words) .
- Focus: Ensure you capture the central argument and key ideas.
- Important: Write this entirely in your own words.
- Reflection
- Goal: Analysis of process and comprehension
- Instructions: After completing both summaries, write a brief reflection paragraph responding to the questions below:
- How did the mental effort involved in writing your own summary compare to the convenience of using AI?
- What did you notice about the relationship between how fast you moved through the text and how much you felt you understood?
- Baseline Confidence Check:
- On a scale of 1–5 (1 = Low, 5 = High), how confident do you feel that you understand Article A (AI)?
- On a scale of 1–5, how confident do you feel that you understand Article B (Human)?
- Briefly explain why you rated them this way.
- Submission checklist: Please upload a single document containing
- Article A: The AI-generated summary + the prompt used.
- Article B: Your own 100–200 word summary.
- Reflection: Your answers to the questions in Step 3.
Recalling & Reflecting (Week 2)
“Recall” is the cognitive process of consciously retrieving previously learned information, knowledge, or memories without the aid of external cues. It involves searching for and bringing stored information into active awareness.
Instructions: You must have completed Part 1 (Reading & Summarizing) in Week 1. For this activity, you will return to the two articles you read last week.
Keep in Mind: You must answer the following questions without looking back at the articles, your notes, or your summaries .
The Goal: To honestly test how much information “stuck” in your memory based on how you engaged with the text.
For Steps 1 & 2, please answer the following questions separately for BOTH Article A and Article B:
Steps
- Article A (The article summarized by AI)
- Main Idea: In one or two sentences, what was the article’s central argument or main takeaway?
- Key Ideas: Identify three specific ideas, concepts, or claims the author emphasized .
- Supporting Detail: Describe one concrete example the article used (a study, statistic, case, or specific scenario) .
- Author’s Purpose: What was the author trying to do (explain, argue, question, reframe)?
- Connections: What does this article connect to (class topics, other readings, real-world issues)?
- Confidence Check: On a scale of 1–5, how confident do you feel about your current understanding of this article?
- Briefly explain what influenced that rating.
- Article B (The article summarized by you)
- Main Idea: In one or two sentences, what was the article’s central argument or main takeaway?
- Key Ideas: Identify three specific ideas, concepts, or claims the author emphasized .
- Supporting Detail: Describe one concrete example the article used (a study, statistic, case, or specific scenario) .
- Author’s Purpose: What was the author trying to do (explain, argue, question, reframe)?
- Connections: What does this article connect to (class topics, other readings, real-world issues)?
- Confidence Check: On a scale of 1–5, how confident do you feel about your current understanding of this article?
- Briefly explain what influenced that rating.
- The final reflection
- Now that the “recall” phase is over, retrieve your summaries from Week 1. Compare what you thought you knew (your summaries) with what you actually remembered (your Steps 1 and 2 responses).
- Write a brief reflection analyzing your experience . Please address the following four areas:
- Recall differences
- Which article was easier to remember? Why do you think that was?
- Where did you notice gaps, fuzziness, or uncertainty in your recall? Was there a difference between your ability to recall the main ideas in the two articles?
- Did your confidence ratings from Week 1 line up with what you were able to recall in Week 2 Where did they match and where didn’t they?
- The role of summarizing
- How did the cognitive effort of writing your own summary affect your understanding and memory of Article B?
- How did relying on an AI-generated summary affect your engagement with Article A? Did it make you feel more or less connected to the content?
- Learning implications
- Based on this experiment, when do you think AI tools are genuinely helpful for learning?
- Conversely, when might they interfere with deep understanding or long-term retention?
- Future use
- How might this experiment change the way you approach reading, summarizing, or using AI tools in your future college courses?
- Recall differences
- Submission checklist
- Upload a single document containing:
- Step 1: Article A recall answers
- Step 2: Article B recall answers
- Step 3: The final reflection
- Upload a single document containing:
Grading criteria
- Summary execution
- Recall engagement
- Analytical depth
- Metacognitive awareness
Tips for instructors: Teaching the “Summary Experiment”
- Avoid spoilers: The entire pedagogical value of this assignment relies on the students not knowing they will be asked to recall the material in Week 2. (It’s about the Generation Effect.)
- The logistics: Post Part 1 as a standalone module in the LMS.
- Curate your articles carefully: The assignment requires two articles of similar length and difficulty.
- Topical contrast: Choose two completely different subjects
- The logic: If the topics are too similar, students will experience “cross-contamination” during the Week 2 recall phase, making it hard to distinguish which facts belonged to which article.
- Enforce the “No Rewriting” rule: Students might be tempted to “fix” the AI summary to make it better.
- Remind them that they are acting as researchers. They must save the AI summary exactly as it appears (only fixing formatting) so they can accurately analyze how their brain engages with the AI’s phrasing versus their own.
- Prompt logging: Ensure they save their prompts, as this helps them reflect on how their “inputs” affected the “outputs” they remembered later.
- Facilitate deep reflection: The goal of Step 3 Final Reflection is not just to see if they remembered facts, but to change their future study habits.
- Encourage students to look for “fuzziness” or “gaps” in their memory.
- Guide them to answer the big question: “When is AI a tool for learning, and when is it a cognitive shortcut that causes me to skip the thinking process?”