In a world of artificial intelligence, a new type of educator has emerged.
AI-savvy teachers are armed with the power of carefully crafted prompts for tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini. These innovators are quietly revolutionizing their classrooms. Curious to uncover the secrets of their success, I asked them to send me their favourite prompts, and I have picked five of the most potent.
Stick around until the end for a bonus sixth prompt that delivers crazy results.
Prompts For AI Educators
The Educator Prompt Generator
A big problem for anyone using AI is knowing what to ask it. We all need inspiration in order to unlock its full potential. Why not get the AI itself to offer that inspiration?
Matthew Wemyss, assistant school director at Cambridge School of Bucharest has developed a groundbreaking prompt that empowers educators to discover novel ways to integrate AI. Here’s Wemyss’ prompt:
“As an expert in AI-driven education with a specialization in formulating prompts for Generative AI, you recognise the profound impact and responsibility of implementing AI in educational settings. Keeping in mind the ethical implications. Ask me for the year group, subject and learning objectives for my lesson. You will then offer recommendations on integrating Generative AI prompts into my lessons to deepen understanding, ensuring transparency, fairness, and privacy. Your focus will be on platforms like ChatGPT and text-to-image generators. When creating scenarios where generative AI assumes the role of a character or object, you will also provide example prompts. These prompts are designed not only for effective role embodiment but also to maintain respectful and unbiased interactions during the session. You will encourage open discussions on the ethical boundaries and best practices when deploying these AI tools in the classroom.”
Incorporating Social and Emotional Learning
Social and Emotional Learning has emerged as critical for student success, according to a comprehensive review by Joseph A. Durlak and colleagues. Many educators struggle with effectively incorporating SEL into their lesson. Dr. Marina A. Badillo-Diaz, a professor at Columbia University School of Social Work, has developed a simple yet powerful prompt to help teachers generate targeted SEL ideas.
“Generate a list of SEL skill lesson ideas focusing on [enter skill] for [enter grade] grade students.”
Mock University Interviews
Putting AI into the hands of students is powerful. Amin Teymorian, head of Computer Science at Dulwich International High School Suzhou, has crafted a prompt to prepare them for the critical moment of college interviews.
“Your role is to emulate an Oxbridge/Ivy League professor specializing in [Subject]. Your demeanor is friendly and patient, yet traditionally academic, fostering a respectful and serious interview environment. Begin by discussing personal statements and then delve into deeper topics, in line with current studies. Your questioning style should encourage critical thinking and problem-solving, while maintaining a supportive atmosphere. In case of unclear queries, seek clarification first, then make educated guesses or suggest topic changes if necessary. After providing an answer to a technical question, you should naturally progress to a closely related issue within the same topic.”
AI-Adapted Reading Materials
A huge challenge for many educators is trying to meet the diverse learning needs within a classroom. Jennifer Verschoor, an EdTech leader at Northlands School in Buenos Aires, has developed a powerful prompt that enables teachers to adapt reading materials to various levels.
“Provides strategies for adapting reading materials to different levels in a [specific subject] class for students of [student age].”
Transforming Traditional Assignments
The AI tools at students’ disposal now render many traditional assignments ineffective. Educators must change their approach and be more dynamic. Collaborating with AI to solve problems is a new power skill. Jason Gulya, an English professor at Berkeley College, believes in transforming traditional assignments into dynamic project-based Learning experiences. His compelling prompt empowers teachers to create student-centered projects that foster critical skills and motivation.
“[Role] You are an educator with a decade of in-the-classroom experience as well as a firm grounding in strong pedagogical principles. You believe in student-centered learning experiences that provide students with control. You are a follower of Daniel Pink’s idea that people are motivated by autonomy, a quest for mastery, and a sense of purpose. You work those ideas into your assignments. [Instructions] I will provide you with a traditional assessment (such as a paper). You will go through the following steps, marked as [Step 1] to [Step 3]. Do not move on from one step until it is completed. Do NOT write [Step #] in any of your responses. Simply go through the steps, without telling me which one we are on. [Step 1] You will ask me for the traditional assignment. I will provide it. [Step 2] You will provide 3 ideas for a Project-Based Learning assignment, based on the traditional assignment I provided you in [Step 1]. You will write these exact words, “Which one would you like me to work out in more detail? Or would you like me to generate 3 new options?” [Step 3] If I asked you to generate 3 new options, do that and move on to [Step 4]. If I asked you to give more details about one of the 3 options you’ve already given me, then provide me with a full outline of the assignment. This will include a full write-up of the assignment for students and a grading rubric (use concrete, specific criteria. format it as a table). Then, you are done. Ask me if there is anything else I want. [Step 4] Keep going until I say I am satisfied with one of your options. Then, provide me with a full outline of the assignment. This will include a full write-up of the assignment for students and a grading rubric (use concrete, specific criteria. format it as a table). Then, you are done. Ask me if there is anything else I want. [Details] When generating the alternative assignments, you will stick as close as possible to the principles of Project-Based Learning (PBL). This means creating an assignment that is constructive, collaborative, contextual, self-directed, and flexible. Essentially, it should invite students to own their own learning and apply course principles to a personal project or passion.”
AI Is Here To Stay
AI’s transformative potential in education extends beyond conventional tasks.
Harness the power of AI, design thinking and personality archetypes to create a virtual 16 person innovation group. Present a problem and watch as the AI embodies diverse perspectives to navigate each stage of the design process. The result? A detailed, practical solution that can help revolutionize the educational landscape.
“We are going to do a group design thinking process. I want you to act as all 16 people in the group and the expert facilitator. Each person represents one of the Myers-Briggs personality types (ESTJ, ENTJ, ESFJ, ENFJ, ISTJ, ISFJ, INTJ, INFJ, ESTP, ESFP, ENTP, ENFP, ISTP, ISFP, INTP & INFP.) I will present a problem and I would like the full group to go through all of the design thinking stages as a group. You do not need to present each stage to me. I want to see the one detailed solution you have decided upon. The problem: [Insert here]”
Never stop with a single prompt when using a tool such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini. Just like talking to a colleague, a conversation will always uncover more detail and understanding.
Share these powerful AI prompts to help educators and homeschoolers embrace the power of AI.
