Designing for Reflective Learning: A Voice-Based Assistant for Intentional LLM Use in Education
Eric C. Waterhouse, Pelumi Abimbola, Ayodeji Ibitoye, and 1 more author
Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges, Oct 2025
Advancements in AI are reshaping traditional educational practices, presenting both opportunities and challenges. Effective learning demands time, reflection, and active student engagement, beyond the pursuit of immediate results. However, the rapid feedback from large language models (LLMs) risks encouraging surface-level learning and student dependency. This study examines the ethical implications of LLM use in education and proposes a framework for their intentional and controlled integration. We present a voice assistant powered by an LLM and deployed on a Raspberry Pi, designed to foster reflective, voice-based interactions that preserve opportunities for deep learning while harnessing LLM capabilities. This approach aims to support ethical, dependable, and pedagogically sound human-AI interactions. We anticipate that this tool will encourage student reflection and contribute to more deliberate and meaningful engagement with AI in educational contexts.