Overview
For multilingual learners and for some students with IEPs, AI can increase access to academic material by providing multiple modalities (e.g., text, audio) and a supportive environment to ask questions and clarify understanding. Google’s NotebookLM, a research and note-taking tool with AI-integrated features, can support students in navigating complex texts, organizing evidence, and building research papers by giving them flexible, personalized entry points to dense content. By pairing AI with intentional scaffolds and student-led collaboration, educators can help students stay engaged with rigorous content and produce higher-quality work, supporting their academic growth while building confidence as independent learners. For multilingual learners, this approach can help by providing multiple exposures to vocabulary and time to process academic English. NotebookLM can be particularly helpful for students who require accommodations for dyslexia and visual impairments. This approach also provides teachers with a practical way to meet diverse needs in classrooms where one teacher may be supporting dozens of students simultaneously.
Example from the School Teams AI Collaborative
At Lynwood High School in Lynwood, CA, English teacher Jacqueline Oropeza integrated NotebookLM into her 10th-grade English class. Students worked on a research paper during a unit on The Real Costs of Fashion, where they examined the history of the Lowell Mills and reflected on how Lowell’s vision compares to working conditions today.
Oropeza provided students with readings, including articles and primary sources, that they could use for their research. However, some of the readings were dense with complex ideas, which made it difficult for students—especially English Language Learners and those with learning differences—to independently access the content fully and pull evidence for their papers. Oropeza addressed this by:
Uploading readings into NotebookLM: This enabled students to interact with readings through the AI tool by asking questions about the material and clarifying their understanding independently.
Providing students with multiple ways to access content: Oropeza uploaded readings into NotebookLM, which generated accompanying podcasts that summarized key points from the reading (listen to an example). She instructed students to use the podcasts as a supplemental tool and still read the original texts. Students still retained the cognitive lift because they needed to identify the evidence from these texts to incorporate into their research papers.
Assigning students leaders to support peers: Oropeza introduced NotebookLM to her students and identified students in each table group who had a strong grasp of the tool to be the NotebookLM expert. These student experts supported peers in using the tool, freeing up teacher time to provide targeted instructional support for students.
Using NotebookLM made a noticeable improvement on students’ academic performance. In particular, students with IEPs increased both the amount and quality of work they submitted, with some improving academic performance by two letter grades. Oropeza reflected, “This has helped me be a more effective teacher because the reality is there’s only one of me and 36 of them. With NotebookLM, students have another way to get the support they need.”
Apply This Strategy in Your Context
When integrated thoughtfully, AI can enhance students’ ability to access dense content, organize their thinking, and build confidence in their academic work, particularly for English learners and students with IEPs. Here are ways to integrate AI into research and literacy instruction:
Use AI to Scaffold Access to Complex Texts: Upload class readings into an AI tool like NotebookLM so students can interact with the text; students can then create supplemental supports, (e.g., podcasts that summarize key points from the readings). Make sure the cognitive lift remains with the student by emphasizing that these tools are add-ons and should be used to help read the text rather than be used as a substitute for the text.
Engage Students as Peer Leaders: Train a few students in each group to become “AI tool experts” who can guide their peers in using NotebookLM effectively. Encourage students to collaborate at their tables, ask questions about their texts, and share strategies for using AI to clarify and increase understanding.
Support Students With Diverse Needs: For English Language Learners and students with IEPs, encourage using AI for repeated exposure to texts, listening at their own pace, and revisiting challenging ideas. Monitor student progress and collect reflections from students on how AI tools support their understanding and confidence.
By integrating AI tools thoughtfully into reading and research processes, educators can help all students access rigorous academic content and succeed in building complex assignments like research papers.
This AI-enabled strategy was developed by a member of the School Teams AI Collaborative—a partnership between Leading Educators and The Learning Accelerator (TLA). The Collaborative was developed to bring together innovative educators from schools across the country to share ideas and discover effective ways to use AI in the classroom.
The mission of Lynwood Unified School District, the model urban school district, is to ensure each student fearlessly achieves their highest academic and personal aspirations while contributing to a diverse, global society through an evolving system distinguished by: people of great character who inspire and lead by example; the instilling of courage to be creative; the transformative uses of technology; safe and clean environments; and the inclusion of all voices in our community through equity, access, and justice.
