Teacher Tricks

Prompting – Learning to Talk with AI

Learn more about prompting at LearnPrompting.org

Chaining – Breaking down a complex request into logical steps or instructions that follow a chain of logic. For example, Start with, “What are some good examples of thesis statements for this prompt. Select one of the prompts and ask “What are some of the best supporting ideas for that thesis?” then ask, “What are some counter arguments?” and so on.

Formatting – Asking the AI to report back to you in a format that you can best utilize. For example, “Present the key points in bullet points.” Or “Export the timeline data into a CSV file.” Or “Format the instructions using HTML headings and text styling like bold and italics.”

Framing – Creating a frame to set the overall context and kind of response you want. For example, “Write a poem that conveys a sense of wonder about nature.”

Fine-Tuning – Iteratively providing feedback to improve responses and fine tune the answers, for example, “The previous poem had nice imagery but the structure was unclear. Please try writing it again with a clear beginning, middle and end.”

Styling – Asking the AI to use a particular tone or style. For example, “Respond in the philosophical style of Friedrich Nietzsche.” Or “Answer in a tone that is optimistic and encouraging.”

Priming – Providing relevant details and background information to prime the AI to put forth the best product. For example, “The poem should describe a forest, including details about the trees, animals, and sensations the narrator experiences there.”

Soft-Prompting – Providing a soft but flexible prompt and leaving room for creativity in the Ais response. For example, “Please write a short poem related to nature.”

Hard-Prompting – Providing hard and fixed prompts that are specific and have rigid constraints. For example, “Write a 10-line poem about a forest using vivid imagery and metaphors in the style of Robert Frost.”

Scenarios – Ideating on How Best to Use AI.

Chat with our content creator bot to help develop your own classroom content

Argument & Debate – In a college political science course, Professor Rodriguez aims to facilitate an in-class discussion on government surveillance’s role in balancing national security and individual privacy. Concerned that students might lack comprehensive insights, he assigns ChatGPT as a homework tool for background research. Students choose positions, engaging with ChatGPT’s challenges, allowing for in-depth exploration of multifaceted arguments on this contentious topic.

Scenario Based learning – In a law class, students engage in an activity where ChatGPT write content for a choose your adventure simulated a courtroom trial, with students taking on roles as lawyers and witnesses, allowing them to practice legal arguments, cross-examinations, and evidence presentation, thereby refining their courtroom skills and understanding of legal proceedings.

Tutoring – In an algebra class, a student could log into their LMS to receive extra help on a newly introduced math concept, such as linear equations. The student asks the chatbot for help, and the chatbot responds with step-by-step explanations, practice problems, and hints tailored to the student’s current level of understanding, ensuring they grasp the concept effectively, even outside of regular classroom hours.

Content Creation – Imagine a high school biology teacher, Ms. Rodriguez, is working on a new unit for her high school biology class to align with the latest curriculum standards. She decides to use AI-powered tools to generate comprehensive lesson plans that include objectives, explanations, multimedia resources, and relevant scientific updates. Additionally, she employs AI to produce quizzes with varying difficulty levels, comprising multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blank exercises, and short-answer questions. Finally, she leverages AI to craft study materials such as flashcards, summaries, and interactive diagrams, providing her students with a well-rounded learning experience.

Revision – Meet Cindy, an Environmental Science student. She’s working on a paper about local air quality policies. Cindy uploads her draft to ChatGPT, receiving valuable insights. ChatGPT suggests reorganizing two sections for better flow, emphasizes the need for recent air quality data to support her claims, and advises her to revise sentences for conciseness and clarity.

Differentiation/Personalization – A college-level composition instructor named Professor Smith has his students take an AI-assisted Diagnostic Assessment where they respond to a writing prompt using ChatGPT as a writing assistant. Students craft their responses while receiving automated feedback from ChatGPT. Professor Smith then collects the responses and analyzes the information using ChatGPT. ChatGPT generates individualized reports summarizing each student’s writing strengths and weaknesses. Armed with this diagnostic data, Professor Smith can tailor his curriculum to address his students’ specific needs.