Title: Core Habits I Built with ChatGPT This Summer

Summary:
Three habits that turned ChatGPT from answer machine into learning partner. How a summer of tinkering revealed new learning habits. All summer, I treated ChatGPT like a climbing wall for my brain.

Key Ideas:
1. 1. I learned to ask small, then zoom out.
2. 2. I kept a "show your work" mindset.
3. 3. I looped reflection into the chat.
4. All summer, I treated ChatGPT like a climbing wall for my brain.
5. Every new idea I wanted to scale — coding, AI, physics twists, even half-baked metaphors — I used it as my belay partner.

Permalink: https://aiaieducation.org/blog/gpt-learning-habits

Full Post Body:

All summer, I treated ChatGPT like a climbing wall for my brain. Every new idea I wanted to scale — coding, AI, physics twists, even half-baked metaphors — I used it as my belay partner. Somewhere between the stumbles and the "aha" holds, I realized I wasn't just learning new concepts. I was practicing new habits in how I _learn with_ an AI.

Looking back, three core habits stood out:

### 1. I learned to ask small, then zoom out.

Instead of tossing in a giant "teach me everything about \_\_\_" prompt, I'd start tiny — one step of code, one analogy, one misstep. Once I got traction, I'd widen the scope. Like teaching inquiry in the classroom, it's easier to follow a student's half-formed question than to hand them the textbook index.

### 2. I kept a "show your work" mindset.

I treated ChatGPT less like an answer machine and more like a lab partner. I'd ask it to explain its reasoning, generate examples, or even "argue with itself." That habit helped me see gaps, spot patterns, and, crucially, notice when I was the one making the conceptual leap.

### 3. I looped reflection into the chat.

Every so often, I'd pause and ask, "What have we learned so far?" or "What habits am I showing here?" That meta-move — turning the mirror on the process — helped me consolidate ideas in a way that stuck longer than the answer to any single question.

Why share this? Because these habits aren't just for tinkering teachers on summer break. They're the same ones our students will need when learning alongside AI: chunking problems, insisting on transparency, and reflecting in real time.

So here's the takeaway: ChatGPT isn't just a tool for delivering knowledge; it's a workout partner for the way we _practice_ learning. And like any practice, the habits matter more than the hardware.

I'll leave you with the same question I asked myself last week: if AI is the new lab partner in your classroom, what learning habits do you most want your students to strengthen by working with it?