How does having an extra 13 hours each week sound? Would you invest this time into professional development, coach your students or finally spend more time with your family? A report from McKinsey and Microsoft suggests that integrating AI tools can save teachers up to 13 hours each week. No more late nights preparing lesson plans or marking papers. And this is on top of better learning outcomes and stronger student-teacher relationships.
To get accurate and relevant AI output, it is crucial to learn the art of crafting effective prompts. This guide shares some of the best prompting techniques that enhance interactions with AI for teachers.
Effective Prompt Engineering in Education
Prompt engineering requires crafting effective instructions for AI systems. When you use tools like ChatGPT, you instruct it by means of a query, also known as prompt. Prompt engineering is the process of crafting effective prompts that generate accurate and relevant responses.
In education, prompt engineering plays an important role as it can personalize educational content and support a wide range of teaching activities. This can help teachers focus less on routine tasks and more on what matters.
Before
Although AI models have only recently become available to masses, its integration into education began more than 50 years ago with the emergence of computer-based instruction systems (CBI). With their help, teachers prepared interactive learning materials for students based on their grade and performance. These systems also incorporated a feedback feature that helped improve the interaction.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the development of intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) allowed the ability to tailor teaching materials and the pace of learning to each student based on their performance. The use of natural language processing (NLP) supported even more the interactive learning environment.
And Now
Fast forward to today, more and more universities and institutions start to develop their own AI applications and guide AI models to meet their unique educational needs.
For example, the University of Michigan created closed generative AI systems due to growing privacy concerns regarding the open AI programs. This allowed the university to make artificial intelligence affordable and accessible to every student on the campus and also support the university’s values. The University of Washington followed the lead and developed its own generative artificial intelligence platform with enhanced privacy features.
However, there is no need to develop one’s own AI tool to enhance daily teaching routine. By learning prompt engineering best practices, teachers can make the best of available generative AI tools for free (or almost for free, depending on the scale).
Benefits of Prompt Engineering for Teachers
There are many ways to enhance your teaching through prompt engineering, including:
- Save time in lesson planning
- Create teaching materials cheaper and faster
- Personalize your approach to each class and/or student
- Assess students’ work and generate feedback automatically
- Foster more interactive class discussions through creative prompts
- Capture student’s attention for longer through personalized materials
- Develop prompt engineering guides to ensure accurate and uniform materials
Key Features of Educational Prompts for AI
The structure of your prompt can vary a lot and impact the quality of the AI’s response. Here are the main points to consider when crafting effective prompts:
- State clear objectives and the desired learning outcome
- Explain the context, including the student’s grade and subject area
- Indicate the desired format and length
- Share an example when introducing a new or complex concept
- Adopt a persona to develop the most relevant tone and level of complexity
These are basic components that prompt engineers often use in their prompts to guide the model to generate desired output. We will consider more advanced techniques later in this prompt engineering guide.
How to Craft Prompts for Different Subjects
Depending on your subject, different approaches may come in handy. Here’re a few specific examples on how to optimize prompts for various subjects:
Math and Science:
- Set format constraints for formulas
- Generate step-by-step problem-solving
- Add graphs and diagrams to support understanding
Arts:
- Generate materials with different reading levels
- Adopt your materials for various literary devices
- Create exercises that help students develop their creativity
Social Studies:
- Create exercises with historical perspective-taking
- Generate discussion questions to develop critical thinking skills
- Help students be more culture-sensitive through special exercises
Advanced Prompt Engineering Techniques
As you become more comfortable with basic prompting, you might want to explore advanced optimization. These prompting techniques are especially useful if you teach complex ideas where reasoning play a crucial role in receiving desired outcomes.
Chain-of-thought prompts:
Ensure relevant output and avoid any hallucinations by breaking down complex ideas:
- Start with basics
- Move progressively to more complex ideas
- Add some checking points and questions for reflexion
Zero-shot vs. few-shot approaches:
Guide the AI model according to one of the following approaches:
- Zero-shot: Clear instructions without examples
- Few-shot: Including relevant examples to guide AI responses
- Hybrid approaches for different learning scenarios
- Adaptive techniques based on student needs
Classroom Implementation Strategies
Here is how you can start implementing AI prompts into your classroom teaching.
Enhance Lesson Planning:
- Identify specific points where AI can enhance learning
- Establish clear objectives for AI-assisted activities
- Create prompt templates for recurring activities to save time in the future
- Design backup plans for technology issues
Boost Student Engagement:
- Develop interactive prompting exercises
- Create collaborative AI-assisted projects
- Design prompts that encourage critical thinking
- Include reflection opportunities
Refine Prompts for Safety
Although AI and machine learning offer plenty of ways to save costs and time when planning your lessons, it is important to keep ethics and safety in mind. Here are some of the best practices to ensure the highest quality of your prompt engineering experience.
Filter Your Content
- Review all AI responses before sharing them
- Set appropriate constraints in your input if applicable, such as age restrictions, etc.
- Monitor and adjust filtering parameters
Protect Privacy
- Avoid including personal student information in prompts
- Use anonymous examples and scenarios
- Follow educational privacy guidelines
- Maintain confidentiality in feedback and assessments
Prompt Engineering Techniques for Teachers
Starting with basic prompt design is easy and accessible for anyone. Just think of possible ways to enhance your teaching activities and areas that would benefit more from your personal attention.
As you develop a better understanding of how AI algorithms and large language models work, you will be able to write more advanced prompts.
By following this prompt engineering guide, you can create more engaging, personalized learning experiences while improving your teaching efficiency. Begin implementing these techniques today, and watch as your classroom transforms into a more dynamic, interactive learning environment.
Prompt Genius 