Socratic AI Tutor with Gemini

Garret Arcoraci, School of Information
Priyanga Jayathilaka, Lecturer, School of Physics and Astronomy

I developed an AI tutor for my physics course using Gemini to serve as a 24/7 teaching assistant that guides students through the learning process. Because I saw many students copy-pasting problems into AI just to get answers they didn't understand, I designed this agent to be intentionally Socratic. Instead of providing direct solutions, the bot asks guiding questions to help students solve the problems themselves. To ensure accuracy, I provided the bot with all my course resources and problem sets so it only browses my approved materials, guaranteeing that the solutions it helps them reach are 100% correct. Ultimately, this tool provides additional help outside of the classroom without replacing the essential human interaction that happens during my office hours.

To implement Priyanga's solution to leverage AI as a Socratic tutor for school use, you can follow these five main steps:

First, open Gemini, click on Gems (or "Create a Gem"), and give your new tutor a name. In the instructions box, clearly define its personality.

  • The Blueprint: Explicitly tell the Gem: "You are a patient Socratic tutor. Your golden rule is to never give the final answer. Instead, always respond with a supportive, single guiding question that helps the student uncover the next step themselves."

Gems are only as smart as the data you give them. To keep your AI tutor from hallucinating or using random internet logic, upload your specific course materials.

  • The Blueprint: Use the upload button to attach your validated problem sets, rubrics, and textbook chapters directly into the Gem’s knowledge base. Tell the Gem: "Base all your logic and hints strictly on these uploaded documents."

A good tutor doesn't dump a 10-step explanation on a student all at once. You need to instruct the Gem to break complex concepts into bite-sized milestones.

  • The Blueprint: Tell the Gem: "Take it one milestone at a time. After you ask a guiding question, wait for the student to reply. Do not jump ahead to step two until the student has successfully figured out step one."

Before you share the Gem with your class, you need to do a quick dry run. AI can sometimes be over-eager to please and accidentally blurts out the answer.

  • The Blueprint: Switch over to the preview chat and pretend to be a struggling student. Give the Gem bad answers or ask it to "just give me the answer, please." If it cracks and gives you the answer, tweak your instructions in Step 1 to be stricter. Consider asking a TA or student to test it out as well.

When you share the Gem with your students, frame exactly what it is, and what it is not.

  • The Blueprint: Present the tool as a "24/7 Virtual TA." Remind students that it is designed to stretch their brains and help them study when live faculty and TAs are not available, not to act as a magic shortcut to finish their homework in five minutes.
  • Pro-Tip for Beginners: If you are stuck on what to write in the instructions, you can actually type: "I want you to be a Socratic math tutor" into the Gem box, and click the Rewrite magic wand tool. Gemini will automatically expand it into a detailed prompt for you, which you can then customize.
  • Visit the Google Help Center to read more about getting started with Gemini Gems.

 Click here for another example of how RIT faculty have adapted their teaching methods in response to AI.