Over the past year, I’ve noticed how generative AI has become increasingly integrated into my daily life. Whether I’m searching online and seeing AI summaries in Google results or engaging with articles, books, and podcasts discussing its growing impact, it’s clear that AI is here to stay. Recognizing this, I realized it’s in my best interest to learn as much as I can about it and explore how I can use it positively with both students and educators. I found that prompting AI is a new skill that I needed to develop to get the response that I wanted.
What is Generative AI?
Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that uses a technology known as a large language model (LLM). These models synthesize vast amounts of information from books, websites, and other digitized texts to predict and generate human-like responses. They don’t just analyze information. They create new content based on the patterns they have learned. Generative AI is also impacted by the biases embedded in the training data. While these tools can be incredibly helpful, they may produce biased or inaccurate responses due to the nature of the sources they rely on. It’s crucial that we teach students to approach AI-generated content with a discerning eye, using these tools ethically and responsibly by critically examining the responses for accuracy.
Early Learning with ChatGPT
My first step in learning about generative AI was to explore how it can be used, identify the new skills I needed, and understand its limitations. I chose to work with ChatGPT to start my journey. I began with some everyday tasks, creating a schedule, building an itinerary for a trip, and generating title ideas for a story. I quickly discovered that the key to getting quality results lies in the craft of prompting. Prompting is an essential new skill and learning how to craft effective prompts is like learning to ask better questions that are clear, thoughtful, and purposeful.
Here are a few tips I’ve gathered on becoming a more effective prompt engineer:
1. Be Specific and Clear
The more detailed your prompt, the better the output will be. For example, when I first asked for an itinerary for a trip to Toronto, the result was vague. When I revised the prompt to include specific locations, a two-day timeframe, and start and end times, the results were much more helpful. I then followed up by researching the information the model had proposed to confirm opening and closing hours, refining the result until it was accurate.
2. Provide Context, Audience, or Role
Including some specific details in your prompt by identifying the intended audience or role that the writer should assume will ensure that the response is appropriate to the task. For instance, if I want to generate a writing sample for students, I might ask for a piece written by a 5th-grade student. This additional information helps ensure that the responses match what you are looking for. (Magliozzi & Peterson, 2025)
3. Include Examples
When you want a response in a specific format or style, include an example in your prompt. Whether it’s a paragraph, a specific genre, or a particular format, examples help the platform generate what you want.
4. Use Repeated Prompting
Think of prompting as a conversation. Often, your first prompt will not give you the perfect result. Ask follow-up questions, clarify what you want, and continue shaping the output until it meets your needs.
5. Ask for Multiple Options
When you’re seeking creative input, titles, captions, or ideas, ask for multiple examples. Requesting 10 options gives you a variety of options to work from and often sparks new ideas you haven’t thought about. You can then take those ideas and revise them in your own words and style. And don’t forget to check for accuracy.
Conclusion
Generative AI is here to stay. It is a powerful tool that, when used thoughtfully, can be an asset. As teachers, our role is to support students in using AI ethically and responsibly through critical thinking and analysis while always keeping its limitations in mind. By modeling curiosity, exploration, and critical thinking in our learning, we can guide students to become not only users of AI but also thoughtful creators in an AI world.
Want to Learn More?
Join us for our two-day workshop, AI-Powered Literacy: Practical Tools to Plan, Engage, and Inspire on June 25 and 26.
References
Magliozzi, D. & Peterson, K. (2025). AI in the writing workshop: Finding the write balance. Heinemann.
