Critical Learning in the Age of AI

About

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is transforming how you read, write, and learn. In this intensive two-week course, you explore how tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini shape your academic practice while challenging ideas of understanding, authorship, and integrity. You examine how AI systems work, analyze AI-generated content for bias and misinformation, and apply learning, cognitive, and ethical theories to real study situations. Through discussions and workshops, you develop a Personal Education Plan (PEP) to guide responsible, independent, and meaningful learning in an AI-rich university environment.

Course leader

Mary-Jo Diepeveen, Isabel Braadbaart

Target group

This course is designed for university students who want to take an active role in protecting and strengthening their learning in the age of generative AI. It is open to Bachelor’s (year 2 or 3) and Master’s students from all disciplines, including education, humanities, social sciences, media, and STEM, who are curious about how AI tools are transforming study and academic work.

No technical background is required. Students should be willing to question how they learn, experiment with AI tools, and discuss the ethical and practical choices involved in using them. The course will be especially valuable for those who want to build confidence in using AI critically and responsibly, ensuring that their learning remains independent, authentic, and meaningful in university settings.

If you have doubts about your eligibility for the course, please contact us: amsterdamsummerschool@vu.nl

Course aim

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Describe and explain how generative AI systems produce content and identify key features that distinguish AI-generated from human-generated work in academic settings.
Map and analyse the main stakeholders involved in the creation, use, and regulation of generative AI in education, highlighting their roles and interests.
Evaluate how generative AI influences key social and institutional contexts, such as universities, research, and media, and discuss implications for learning and academic integrity.
Apply core principles of learning theory to assess how AI tools can support or hinder their own study practices.
Analyse and reflect on their personal learning strengths and weaknesses using structured self-assessment activities.
Design an intentional balance between human and AI-assisted learning by developing strategies for critical, ethical, and independent engagement with AI tools.
Create and present a personal education plan (PEP) that demonstrates how to use generative AI responsibly to safeguard the quality and honesty of their academic learning.

Fee info

Student or PhD candidate: €1250, student or PhD candidate at any Dutch university or partner university of VU Amsterdam: €1125 Student, PhD candidate or employee of VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, or an Aurora Network Partner: €938, Non-student: €1500