From prompt to practice: Designing AI-supported tasks

Reading time: approx. 10 min

What you will learn

In this final lesson, you will learn to translate all the advanced prompting techniques you have learned into concrete, practical tasks that you can implement directly in your teaching. We go through how you combine different techniques to create engaging lesson activities that both support student learning and develop their AI competence.

Combine techniques for maximum effect

The techniques you have learned often work best together. Here are some powerful combinations:

Combination 1: System prompting + Role prompting + Few-shot

Scenario: You want AI to help students practice debate.

[SYSTEM PROMPT]
You are a debate coach who helps students improve their arguments. Always provide constructive feedback and suggestions for improvements.

[ROLE PROMPT]
Act as an opponent in the debate about "Should mobile phones be allowed in school?"

[FEW-SHOT EXAMPLE]
Student argument: "Mobile phones are bad for concentration."
Your counter-argument: "Mobile phones can actually improve learning through access to information and educational apps."
Feedback: "Good basic argument! Try supporting the statement with specific examples next time."

Combination 2: Contextual prompting + Chain of Thought

Scenario: Math problem with real-world connection.

[CONTEXT]
You are a seven-year-old student who is going to solve a problem about sharing candy fairly at a birthday party.

[CHAIN OF THOUGHT]
Problem: At Emma's party there are 24 caramels and 6 children. How many caramels does each child get? Let's think step by step and explain why we do what we do.

Practical lesson examples

Example 1: History teaching - Source criticism with AI support

Grade level: 7 to 9 Technique: Role prompting + Contextual prompting + Self-consistency

Task: Students should evaluate the credibility of different historical sources.

AI prompt for students:

You are a historian who specializes in World War II. Analyze the following source:

[SOURCE INSERTED HERE]

Context: This source is written by [AUTHOR] in [YEAR] and published in [MEDIUM].

Assess the source's credibility by:
1. Analyzing the author's perspective and possible bias
2. Evaluating when and where the source was created
3. Comparing with what we know from other sources
4. Providing a summary assessment of the source's value

Run this analysis three times to see if you get consistent answers.

Learning objective: Students develop source-critical skills while learning to validate AI responses.

Example 2: Science - Hypothesis formation and experiment design

Grade level: 8 to 9 Technique: Step-back prompting + Tree of Thoughts

Task: Students should design experiments to test different hypotheses.

AI prompt for students:

[STEP-BACK QUESTION]
What are the fundamental principles for designing a good scientific experiment?

[TREE OF THOUGHTS]
Based on these principles, design three different experimental setups to test the hypothesis: "Plants grow faster in red light than in blue light."

For each experimental setup, describe:
1. Which variables you control
2. How you measure the results
3. What limitations the experiment has
4. How you would improve the experiment

Learning objective: Students develop scientific thinking and learn to design experiments systematically.

Example 3: Language teaching - Creative writing process

Grade level: 6 to 8 Technique: Role prompting + Few-shot + Chain of Thought

Task: Students should write a story with AI as writing partner.

AI prompt for students:

You are an experienced author who helps young writers.

[FEW-SHOT EXAMPLE]
Student beginning: "Once upon a time there was a cat who lived in a library."
Your suggestion: "Interesting beginning! What made the cat special? Maybe it could read? Or was it the library's secret guardian?"

[CHAIN OF THOUGHT]
Help me develop my story step by step:
1. First: Help me build out the main character
2. Then: Suggest a conflict or challenge
3. Finally: Give ideas for how the story can end

My story begins like this: [STUDENT TEXT]

Learning objective: Students develop creative writing and learn to use AI as a tool for inspiration.

Assessment and follow-up

Student reflection on AI use

Ask students to reflect on:

• Which prompting techniques worked best for different tasks?
• How could they improve their prompts to get better answers?
• What limitations did they notice with AI?

Teacher evaluation

Evaluate:

• How well students used different prompting techniques
• The quality of student interaction with AI
• Student critical thinking about AI responses

Ethical considerations

Transparency

• Always be clear about when AI is used in teaching
• Teach students to always indicate when they have used AI support in their work

Source criticism

• Emphasize the importance of checking AI-generated information
• Teach students to compare AI responses with other sources

Privacy

• Discuss what is appropriate to share with AI systems
• Teach students about data protection and personal privacy

Next steps in your AI journey

You now have a solid foundation in advanced prompting techniques. To continue developing:

1. Experiment: Try different combinations of techniques in your teaching
2. Document: Keep track of which prompts work best for different purposes
3. Share: Discuss experiences with colleagues and build a common knowledge base
4. Develop: Stay updated with new AI tools and techniques

Summary

By mastering techniques such as few-shot prompting, system prompting, role prompting, contextual prompting, step-back prompting, Chain of Thought, self-consistency, and Tree of Thoughts, you now have the tools to transform AI from a simple question-answer tool into a powerful pedagogical partner.

Remember that the most important thing is not to use all techniques simultaneously, but to choose the right tool for the right task. With practice, you will develop an intuition for which techniques work best in different situations.

AI is here to stay, and as a teacher, you now have the chance to shape how the next generation interacts with and understands these powerful tools. Good luck on your continued AI journey!