| Class | Semester | Instructor | Department | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historical Approaches to Global Affairs | Spring 2026 | David Engerman and Sophia Calderon Monarrez | (SAIL) Global Affairs | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 |
Learning Objectives
- Use NotebookLM to find relevant academic sources.
- Understand how AI-powered search differs from traditional search engines.
- Formulate effective and detailed queries.
- Explore potential subtopics.
- Use AI-powered search conscientiously and responsibly.
Overview (see attached for complete instructions)
A 30-minute activity on Locating Scholarly Books & Articles through AI-powered search was held on February 18th for the GLBL 2150 class. Students first learned about AI-powered search and NotebookLM. Then, students learned how to formulate AI queries using the RISE framework (Role, Inputs, Steps, and Expectations) to be specific and set constraints for AI-powered search.
The Student AI Liason (SAIL) led a demonstration of how to use NotebookLM. The session focused on finding academic sources regarding the origins and operations of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Students followed along and could investigate a topic of their choice. Students practiced querying the model and selecting relevant sources.
Students learned how to use AI resources as a starting point to examine historical events and get started on research queries. Students explored NotebookLM’s features to investigate subtopics through the “Mind Map” feature. Then, students used what they learned to find more sources on specific topics of interest. Students also learned how to generate and save a Chicago-style bibliography to their Google Drive.
Reflections
Professor Engerman: I wanted students to explore AI as a bibliographic tool, as well as a tool for organizing sources that might be more useful than Zotero (my go-to but better for larger projects like a book or an article than fire it up for a term paper). Sophia did an excellent job demonstrating the capabilities of Notebook LLM and from reading students’ research journals, I could see a handful of students really took this on board. If I were to run such an exercise again, I would be sure to emphasize to students that use of AI is limited to locating sources; while I mentioned it a handful of times, too many students extended the use of Notebook LLM beyond the strictures of the course.
Sophia (SAIL): Before completing this activity, some of the students in the class had not previously engaged with NotebookLM or similar AI-powered search engines, while some did have prior knowledge. Teaching students how to perform AI-powered search through NotebookLM helped them find additional sources for this course and gave them opportunities to explore their topics through new approaches. For future iterations of this activity, I would recommend spending more time discussing the limitations of these models when used for historical research. It would also be important to more clearly determine how students should or should not use technology like NotebookLM for the course.