Short summary: AI tools like Genio Notes are transforming STEM education by reducing the cognitive load for students, particularly those with disabilities and learning differences such as ADHD or dyslexia. By providing real time transcripts and time stamped annotations, these tools allow students to shift from frantic transcribing to active engagement, making AI learning tools an essential component of students academic toolkit.
Here, we explore how AI note taking tools such as Genio Notes, can help students with disabilities access and engage with STEM subjects more effectively, prompting positive outcomes and learning experiences for college students.
For STEM students with disabilities, the lecture hall can often feel like a place of exclusion. From the rapid derivation of complex equations to the dense, technical vocabulary of organic chemistry, the cognitive load of simultaneous listening and note taking is immense.
Why are STEM students are using AI?
AI use is surging across all disciplines, with over 90% of students now using AI in some form academically, and STEM is no exception.
Students aren't just using AI to save time; they are using it to solve specific structural challenges inherent to STEM education:
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Navigating the cumulative knowledge trap: In STEM, missing one core concept in week three can make week four incomprehensible. Rather than rely on classmates notes or waiting for office hours to catch up, students can use AI platforms to help identify and address these gaps before they snowball.
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Overcoming cognitive overload: When students must process complex visual data while listening to a technical explanation, their working memory can become overwhelmed. During note taking, AI can act as a distributed cognition partner, holding the technical details so the student’s brain can focus on the underlying logic.
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Closing the accessibility gap: For students with disabilities, AI provides real time linguistic support, helping decode high-level scientific jargon and ensuring that a missed word doesn't lead to a misunderstood concept.
How can AI help STEM students to take notes?
A common concern with AI in academia is that it might lead to passive learning. However, research into Genio's impact shows the opposite. By providing a safety net transcript, Genio Notes allows students to shift from transcribing to interacting.
1. During the lecture: Engagement over transcription
Genio Notes doesn't write the notes for the student. Instead, it provides a live transcript that acts as a secure record. This frees the student to:
2. After the lecture: The review cycle
The real magic happens after class. Because the student's personal notes are linked to specific moments in the transcript, the review process becomes a targeted intervention. They aren't just reading; they are verifying their understanding against the primary source.
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Precision review: A student can click on their own typed note and instantly be taken to that exact moment in the audio and transcript to verify their understanding or investigate further.
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Self testing with AI Quizzes: To ensure they have actually retained the material, students can use Genio Notes to generate custom quizzes directly from their lecture transcript and personal notes. This feature is vital for students with disabilities who may struggle with self-organization; it automates the creation of retrieval practice materials, allowing them to test their understanding of complex STEM theories in a low-stakes environment before the midterm arrives.
Our research shows that this intelligent note taking approach, combining personal annotation with AI automation and self-testing, leads to a 3.6% increase in GPA and a 28% reduction in dropout intentions among students with academic accommodations.
Integrating tools that make learning more accessible isn't just a reasonable adjustment, it’s a commitment to Universal Design for Learning. It recognizes that auditory processing and executive function vary from student to student, and that independence is the ultimate goal of any accommodation.
By using AI to handle the mechanical capture and the creation of study aids, we can empower students to keep their focus where it belongs: on critical thinking, problem-solving, and the productive struggle required to become the next generation of scientists and engineers.
