5 AI Skills To Teach Your Students

If not us, then who?

“Why on earth should we train students to use AI - they’ll just use it to cheat?!”

This is a common sentiment and I understand why.

Students using AI in a way that harms their learning is top of mind for many educators. I’ve felt it myself - looking over the scope and sequence of my course and realising it could now be completed quickly and with minimal effort by students using AI.

It’s not a nice feeling.

But does this mean the shouldn’t train them to use AI?

No. Here’s the big idea why:

We should train students to use AI because if we don’t, then Big Tech will.

You see, students will receive AI training. They will be giving information, whether expressed or implied, about how AI should be use. They will have their AI scheme shaped, which will in turn shape their understanding of work, school, and what it means to be human. It will be trained - but who will do the training?

Their heads, hearts, and hands will either be shaped by teachers who love them or by big tech who sees them to a means to a dubious end.

So, if it’s up to us to teach them to use AI, what should we teach them?

That’s the question I want to answer in this short article.

Let’s dive in.

How to prompt

Prompting is the first request we make of AI.

Students use AI all the time, but that doesn’t mean they’re good at prompting. Often, they’re quite bad at prompting. They give a single, staccato line, no context, no specifications for the output.

I teach my students to prompt using the RTF formula:

Role: Give the AI a role - let it know the context within which it’s operating. This will likely start by saying “you are a…” or “act as a…”

Task: Give the AI a task - let it know what you want it to do.

Format: Let the AI know how you want your information. They could ask for a grid, table, poem, paragraph, or series of dot-points.

Bonus: Include an example. Just like students, AI works best when it has a clear idea of what it’s aiming at. If you want it to give you a very specific kind of output, consider including an exemplar for the AI to use.

The RTF formula is a simple way to give the AI the context it needs to create great output, but it’s not so complicated that you’ll spend all day writing your prompt.

How (and why) to iterate

“I can’t use this - it’s way too long!”

My year 10 student stared at the 800 words of block-text generated by her simple prompt. She closed the tab and gave an exasperated sigh.

Interestingly, it never crossed her mind to ask for simpler text, or to have it presented in dot-points, or to have the keywords in bold.

This process - editing the output through follow up messages - is called iteration.

Just like the best writing comes from editing, the best AI output comes from iteration.

Here are a few common iterations:

• reduce the length

• make this easier to read

• give it to me in dot-points

• Please clarify the meaning of _______.

• give me clear headings and sub-headings

• Rewrite the output, focus less on ______ and more on ______.

How to get explanations

One of the best uses of AI is to get it to walk you through an idea step-by-step.

Students can ask the AI to simplify the idea into parts, present one part at a time, check for understanding, and move on.

Here’s an example prompt I wrote with a student studding biology:

Role: You are an expert biology tutor with a deep understanding of photosynthesis.

Task: Take the concept of photosynthesis and break it into its core components. Present one component at a time, explaining it clearly and concisely. After each explanation, check for my understanding by asking if I grasp the concept or have any questions. Only move to the next component once I confirm understanding or after addressing any questions I have to clarify the concept.

Format: Present the information in a series of clear, concise paragraphs, with each paragraph focusing on one component of photosynthesis, followed by a question to check my understanding

This tool the student step-by-step thorugh

• What is Photosynthesis?

• Where Photosynthesis Happens

• The Role of Sunlight

• The Role of Carbon Dioxide and Water

• The Two Main Stages of Photosynthesis

• The Importance of Photosynthesis

Of course, this was no replacement for what they learned in class, but it was able to fill in some of the gaps the student had in their understanding.

How to test their knowledge

Having a student test their own knowledge forms two key roles for learning:

1. They can identify gaps in their learning

2. That can ‘practice’ their knowlege

We often test with an emphasis on the first and forget about the second, but practicing knowledge is a crucial part of learning.

You see, just like a student needs to practice a sport or an instrument, they need to practice their knowledge. It’s a vital part of memory.

Here’s a prompt I recently wrote with one of my Psychology students:

Role: You are an expert psychology tutor with a deep understanding of the topic of consciousness

Task: Using the provided textbook chapter on consciousness, create a set of assessment questions consisting of 10 multiple-choice questions, 5 short-answer questions, and 3 extended-response questions. Present each question one at a time, allowing me to respond before providing feedback based on the source material. After feedback, proceed to the next question.

Format: Present each question in a clear, concise format, with multiple-choice questions including four answer options and a single correct answer, short-answer questions requiring a brief response, and extended-response questions requiring a detailed explanation. Provide feedback in a separate paragraph after my response, referencing the textbook chapter to explain the correct answer or clarify any errors.

My psychology students are just about to sit their mid-year exams, and I know this has been a useful tool for them.

How to put the AI away

This skill is crucial.

For many of us, AI is new and unfamiliar.

But for many students, AI is part of daily life.

We need to encourage our students to sit with their problems.

To ponder.

To wonder.

To wrestle and debate.

Instantly seeking answers to all your questions doth not a good scholar make.

I always encourage my learners to reflect regularly on how AI is shaping them, and if they are noticing a negative impact on any of their academic or social life.

If we cast a vision for deep thinking, academic growth, and intellectual development, student can reflect on whether or not AI is helping them achieve this vision. That’s the kind of learner I want my student to be; a learner who thinks deeply, engages academically, and develops intellectually.

Can AI help in that process? Absolutely.

Will reflexive, knee-jerk use help in that process? Probably not.

A crucial AI skill is learning when to put it away.

Conclusion

AI will shape students’ understanding of work, school, and what it means to be human.

If we don’t guide them, Big Tech will.

By teaching skills like prompting, iteration, getting explanations, testing knowledge, and knowing when to step back, we can help students to use AI wisely.

Tell me this:

How are you teaching students to use AI?

Let me know in the comments - I’d love to hear from you!