Using AI to Design Lessons and Units

One of my favorite parts about teaching has always been the planning process. It feels like artwork, starting with a blank page and an idea, and building an entire learning experience out of it. Sometimes I've started with a set of content standards and let a lesson or project idea grow from there. Other times, it's hearing about an activity and finding a way to fit it within a scope and sequence. This is why time constraints can be so frustrating as an educator—because creativity takes time. I need space and quiet to let ideas develop and to figure out all the details to make those ideas work. But, as you probably know, teachers don't have a lot of space and quiet!

The Challenge of Time Constraints

I've led too many workshops and talked about planning engaging learning units for students where teachers absolutely love the ideas but share that limited time makes these ideas hard to implement.

Enter AI.

If you've been paying attention over the past year, AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini are having a massive effect on education. Of course, it is causing lots of disruption, especially in areas like cheating and plagiarism (but that's a different blog post). However, the advent of artificial intelligence is also opening up many possibilities for educators and their students. One of the positive benefits is the way these tools can help you save immense amounts of time planning lessons and units. From helping you brainstorm big ideas to writing rubrics for you or organizing your ideas in a lesson plan, these AI tools are massive timesavers.

Enhancing Creativity with AI

You still use your creativity and expertise to design lessons and units, but now you have this super-assistant that can take away a lot of the menial work that goes into design. What I've learned in the last couple of years about using AI tools effectively is that it comes down to knowing how to give clear prompts. By clearly articulating your goals and requirements, you can harness the full potential of these tools to plan engaging work for your students. This not only enhances the quality of your lesson plans but also allows you to focus more on the interactive and human aspects of teaching.

Practical Application: Using AI Prompts

I've spent time creating prompts for designing lessons and projects. During planning time, you can essentially copy and paste these prompts into a tool like ChatGPT, fill in any details related to your class, and then hit enter. What happens next is pretty unbelievable. The tool will write out some great ideas, and then you can adapt and add to those ideas as needed.

Free Resources: AI Prompt Guides

I’ve put these prompts into two separate guides. There is a guide for designing projects/units and a guide for designing lesson plans. I will put an excerpt from each guide below so that you can get an idea of what they look like, but you can get them both in their entirety here for free: Project Prompt Guide and Lesson Plan Prompt Guide.

Lesson Plan Prompt Guide: 

Use this guide to prompt an AI Assistant (ChatGPT, Bing, Gemini) to help you develop an engaging lesson plan. Simply fill in the blanks where prompted (marked in yellow), then copy and paste all the text into the chatbot to generate the lesson. 

*Remember, these tools are assistants. Your creativity and ability to make learning relevant for students is at the heart of a strong lesson plan. So use your expertise to revise the lesson as you see fit.

1. Initial Prompt

Design a fun and engaging lesson plan using the following information:

2. Subject Area:

I teach (insert subject area here)

3. Grade Level:

My students are in (insert grade level here)

4. Timeframe

I will have this much time for the lesson: _________

5. Content Standards

These are the content standards this lesson will cover: _________________________

6. Learning Objective:

By the end of this lesson, I want my students to be able to understand: ________________

By the end of this lesson, I want my students to be stronger at this skill: ________________

*Get the entire guide free here.

Project/Unit Prompt Guide: 

Step 1A- Develop a List of Problems

The first step in developing a PBL project is determining a relevant problem for your students to solve. This can be done by first considering your students’ interests and passions, as well as needs in your school and community. To determine the problem for the project, generate a list of problems, local or global, and then choose one from your list that can connect with learning goals/content standards from your class.

Tip: Create your list without the use of technology at first. Then use the following prompt in ChatGPT to generate more ideas.

Prompt: Create a list of problems that exist in an average _______________
community.                                                      (Urban/Suburban/Rural)

Step 1B- Start With Standards

Include a set of content standards that you want to build a project around in the following prompt sequence (Step 2).

Step 2- Developing Your Prompt

Below is the prompt you can copy and paste into ChatGPT. The highlighted portions are areas you need to add to prior to submitting.

Begin prompt with: Develop a Project Based Learning Project that includes:

Title of Project:

• Include an engaging title that students will connect with throughout the project

Problem (If you used Step 1A):

• Center the project around ________________ that students will solve.
                                               Insert problem         

Content Standards:

• These are the specific academic standards and learning objectives that this project will address. Ensure that the project aligns with the curriculum and educational goals.

• Insert Standards: 

Subject Area:

• This PBL project is for my ______ grade _____________ class.
                                         Grade level           Subject Area

Driving Question:

• Include a thought-provoking question that will guide students throughout the project. This question should be open-ended and encourage critical thinking.

Final Product:

• Describe the tangible outcome or deliverable that students will create as a result of their project work. This should align with the content standards and goals of the project.

*Get the entire guide free here.

AI is an Assistant to Your Creativity and Expertise

ChatGPT and other AI tools can be powerful assistants help generate project ideas, lesson plans, and resources, but it doesn't replace the critical role you play as an educator. Your knowledge, experience, and insight are essential in crafting meaningful learning experiences. AI is here to augment your abilities and provide inspiration, not to substitute them. I hope these prompt guides help you come up with mind-blowing experiences for your students, as well as gives you more time to invest in your favorite parts of being an educator.