Exploring Excellence Through Reading, Research & Curiosity

What can the lives and work of accomplished women teach us about becoming stronger learners?

In Part 5 of the AI for Academic Success Module 1 walkthrough, Dr. Renée Jordan continues the conversation with Jasmine and Janiyah GPT through an Excellence Exploration.

This time, AI is prompted to identify Latinas, Afro-Latinas, and Black women whose reading, research, scholarship, scientific inquiry, writing, and lifelong learning contributed to discovery, innovation, leadership, education, and community change.

The exploration introduces Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, Ellen Ochoa, Dr. María Elena Bottazzi, Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, Dr. Alexa Canady, and Dr. Mae Jemison and considers the learning habits that may have supported their work.

But the purpose isn't simply to generate a list of accomplished women.

It's to ask a more meaningful question:

What can learners take from their approaches to curiosity, careful reading, research, questioning, critical thinking, and lifelong learning—and practice in their own lives today?

This episode explores how AI can support culturally responsive learning by helping students make connections between the academic skills they are developing now and people who have used those skills to expand knowledge, challenge barriers, serve communities, and create new possibilities.