Despite the initial ban on ChatGPT in many schools (including Seattle and Los Angelos schools), teachers are now discovering that the AI chatbot can be a useful aid for teaching and learning.
In a recent EdWeek survey, more than 70% of teachers believe that ChatGPT is something they should teach students how to use. However, only 1 in 10 teachers felt they had enough training with AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to be able to construct a lesson for students.
OpenAI’s Teaching with ChatGPT Guide is Now Available
A few days ago, OpenAI published a blog post title Teaching with AI which contains:
Stories of how educators are using ChatGPT to accelerate student learning. These stories include:
1. Using ChatGPT for Role Playing Real Life Situations
How one professor encourages students to use ChatGPT for role playing in useful situations.
- Role playing with a debate partner who can challenge their arguments.
- Interviewing with a job recruiter to prepare for interviews.
- Or discussions with a supervisor at work about their job performance.
2. Using ChatGPT to Create Lessons Plans and Tests From Teaching Materials
Another professor suggests using ChatGPT to create learning materials from course curricula.
Teachers can prompt ChatGPT to generate test questions based on a course outline based on the student’s age or grade level.
3. Encouraging Students to Use ChatGPT for Translation of Course Materials
Another professor, Fran Bella at a university in Johannesburg, encourages students to use ChatGPT to translate course materials, improve their writing and practice conversation.
Example Prompts for Developing Lesson Plans
Keeping prompts simple and specific is the best way to go when working with ChatGPT. Keep in mind that while ChatGPT is not always accurate, it is very powerful at generating new ideas. (See this post regarding ChatGPT’s performance on a test for creativity.)
Here are 10 prompts that teachers can use to create tests, teaching exercises, and other learning materials with ChatGPT:
- “Generate a set of multiple-choice questions for a MATH test targeting GRADE 9 students.”
- “Design a hands-on experiment or lab activity to teach Animal Anatomy to GRADE 12 students.”
- “Create a crossword puzzle or word search related to American History for GRADE 10 students to reinforce vocabulary.”
- “Generate a list of real-world scenarios that can be used to teach Pythagora’s Theorem to GRADE 12 students.”
- “Provide me with a set of discussion questions to stimulate critical thinking about THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE in a GRADE 12 history class.”
These prompts cover a range of subjects and teaching styles, allowing teachers to create a variety of engaging and effective learning materials for their students.
Use ChatGPT to Create Prompts for Developing Learning Materials
If you don’t have anything specific in mind, you can also ask ChatGPT to create prompts for you. Use the following prompt and experiment until you get useful results.
Come up with 10 prompts for teachers to use ChatGPT to create tests, teaching exercises and other learning materials.
Additional ChatGPT Resources for Teachers
You can read the original blog post about Teaching with AI on their website.
It might also be helpful to review OpenAI’s Educator FAQ with contains information on ChatGPT’s limitations, and well as other resources available.