ChatGPT Study Mode

What is Study Mode

The new ChatGPT Study Mode is designed to make learning feel more like having a personal tutor by your side. Instead of just giving you the answer, it walks you through topics step by step using Socratic questioning - asking questions, giving quizzes, and offering feedback along the way. This keeps you actively involved, helps you really understand the material, and builds critical thinking skills. Whether you’re doing homework, studying for an exam, or trying to wrap your head around a tricky concept, Study Mode adjusts to your pace and keeps things engaging - like having your smartest, most patient tutor who’s available anytime you need.

The Study Mode is available to all logged-in users - including Free, Plus, Pro, and Team plans.

What is Socratic questioning?

Socratic questioning is essentially a method of "answering a question with more questions." The goal isn't to roast you or make you feel embarrassed. It's to help you peel back the layers of a fuzzy idea, like an onion, and force you to see what's really at its core, making your thinking more robust and able to withstand scrutiny.

It's an extremely powerful tool for critical thinking, and it's super effective for teaching, debating, coaching, and even self-reflection.

In a nutshell: It's not about giving you answers. Instead, it's about using a series of questions to force you to think for yourself, ultimately making you discover the answer or the flaws in your own logic through a dialogue.

How to Activate Study Mode

1. Go to: https://chatgpt.com/
2. Click the "+" button, and select "Study and Learn"
   

   

3. Take a look at the use cases below and enter the prompt.

Use Cases

Solve Math Problem

Level: Primary 3
Tom is 9 years old and his father is 43 years old. How
many year's time will Tom's father be 3 times as old as
him?

Tip: Add the "Level" so ChatGPT can adjust its explanations and questions to match the learner’s ability.”

Understand a dry and complicated document / lecture notes

Attach your PDF document and type in the following prompt:

Help me understand this pdf in a faster and more interesting way

Generate quiz from question bank

Attach your PDF containing the question banks (e.g. past-year questions) and type in the following prompt:

Test me with questions from the attached question bank.
Randomize the questions.

Tip: Add "Randomize the questions" so that the questions will appear in randomized orders.

Prepare for a professional cert

Help me prepare for PMP: 
create a 4-week study schedule with key topics per week, 
and include a 20-question practice quiz for Week 2.

Deep dive into a hobby (e.g. photography, cooking)

Help me understand the exposure triangle in photography. 
Explain the fundamentals first, then suggest three exercises 
I can do this weekend to apply what I learn.

Google Gemini Guided Learning

Google Gemini also has something similar to ChatGPT's Study Mode - the Guided Learning. To access this,

1. Go to: https://gemini.google.com/
2. Click the Tools button, and select "Guided Learning"
   

Personally I find ChatGPT's Study Mode much better for Learning because of the Socratic questioning approach. However, there's one area Gemini's Guided Learning outshine ChatGPT - the Interactive Quiz. Simply upload any PDF and type in the following prompt:

Please test me on this document with 10 interactive quiz - multiple choice type.

You will get an interactive quiz as shown below.

When you click on an answer, the question will be marked instantly. If your choice is incorrect, it will explain why that answer is wrong and show you the correct one.