Using AI to Enhance Project-Based Learning Units

A fourth grade teacher in Detroit was going to do the same unit on measurements that she has done for the past seven years. Most of it was direct instruction with practice exercises, and a little bit of hands-on application where students use rulers to measure certain items in the classroom to determine perimeters, area, and angles. After seven years of this unit, this teacher was getting bored of teaching this the same way with the same outcomes. So she typed into ChatGPT: “I am a fourth grade teacher in Detroit, Michigan. Create a list of project-based learning ideas where students will solve a problem while learning about perimeters, area, and angles.”

And within seconds, she had a list of ten project ideas to choose from. This particular one caught her eye:

Designing Better Coat Hooks for Classrooms

As a teacher in Michigan, this one might suit your students well. Students measure wall spaces in their classroom to determine the best placement for additional coat hooks, applying their knowledge of perimeter, area, and angles. They create blueprints, calculate materials needed, and present a proposal to the school administration—using math to solve a real-world problem and make their classroom more functional.

Coats piling up in the classroom and hallway have been an issue for a while, and now this Math Unit could possibly be the solution. 

AI can enhance learning units. 

This fourth grade teacher still covered the same content and even presented it in a similar way to how she has always taught the material, only now there was a new motivation for student-work. There was a problem to solve and an authentic audience for the students. This is at the heart of project-based learning; teachers use best practices to teach content while students use that content to solve an authentic problem. AI doesn’t change that definition in any way, rather, it serves as a creative partner to plan the project.

Prior to the advent of tools like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, the Coat Hook Project would have been just as possible, especially if the teacher had ample time to plan and collaborate with other educators. However, collaborative time is a precious commodity most educators don’t get enough of. By knowing how to prompt the AI tool, teachers can design new units, or convert existing ones in countless different ways. 

Overcoming Obstacles with AI

In my PBL workshops, I ask the question: “What are the biggest obstacles for doing project-based learning?” And the top response is always time. Time to plan. Time to assess. Time to present. Time to manage students. 

The second most popular response is “coming up with project ideas.”

This is why the advent of AI, with all of the potential struggles that come with it, presents such an exciting opportunity for teaching and learning, especially as it relates to project-based learning. When teachers know how to use it well, AI can save hours of planning time, resource-creation-time, project management time, time to assess— and as a result, buy the teacher more time to help students engage and learn. It helps overcome some of the biggest obstacles that often prevent teachers from doing authentic projects with their students.

Here are some ways AI can be used to enhance project-based learning units.

Using AI to Come Up With Project Ideas

AI can serve as a great creative partner, as long as you know how to prompt it to produce the way you need it to. This requires specificity. I created a prompt guide to walk you through the prompting process. All you have to do is fill in the blanks where necessary on the prompt guide, then copy and paste the prompts into a tool like ChatGPT or Gemini, and it will generate unbelievable project ideas. You can get the prompt guide for free here.

Using AI for Classroom Project Management

Managing a project-based learning unit requires juggling multiple moving parts—timelines, student tasks, resources, and assessments. AI can help streamline this process by generating detailed project timelines, breaking projects into manageable steps, and even creating to-do lists/checklists for students. Once you have your project idea, you can write the prompt: “Create a day-to-day calendar for this project.” Or you can be more specific (which is always a good idea with AI prompting) and write: “Create a calendar for this project that encompasses two weeks. Make sure to include a task list for students for each day of the project, as well as 15 minutes each day for silent reading. 

From there, you can adapt the response you get to actually work for your class. The way AI can help organize project-time makes managing that time so much easier.

Additionally, AI-powered tools can assist in organizing student work, tracking progress, and providing automated reminders, allowing teachers to focus more on facilitating learning rather than on administrative tasks. 

Using AI to Find Community Partners 

Authenticity is a key component of project-based learning, and involving community partners can greatly enhance student engagement. However, finding the right organizations or experts to collaborate with can be time-consuming. AI can simplify this process by helping teachers identify local businesses, nonprofits, and professionals who align with their project themes. You can use AI to generate email templates to contact professionals, research relevant contacts, or even suggest potential partnerships based on location and subject matter.

I was helping a group of teachers in Yorktown, Indiana plan a project where their students would help save the local bat population. The teachers wanted to find a biologist who could zoom in with their classes. So we put into ChatGPT: “Generate a list of biologists in central Indiana who could potentially speak to my students about the local bat population.” 

And like magic, the AI produced a list of 10 scientists along with the phone numbers and emails.

Whether it's a local architect providing feedback on student blueprints or a business owner discussing budgeting for a school improvement project, AI can help bridge the gap between the classroom and the broader community.

Using AI to Integrate Subject Matter into PBL Projects

AI can also support teachers in aligning your curriculum standards with your project. By analyzing learning objectives and grade-level expectations, AI tools can suggest ways to embed subject specific content into your projects and make them standards-based. For example, a science teacher working with the NGSS standard 4-PS3-4 (Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another) could use AI to generate project ideas based on these standards. I just tried it and this is what AI produced:

Designing Solar-Powered Ovens. 

Students explore how solar energy can be harnessed for cooking. They research energy transfer, build prototype ovens using materials like cardboard, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap, and test their effectiveness by measuring temperature changes. Through data collection and iteration, students refine their designs to maximize efficiency. This interdisciplinary project integrates science, math, and engineering while fostering problem-solving and real-world application of renewable energy concepts.

From here, you can use AI to create activity ideas, generate case studies, integrate reading and writing in meaningful ways, and so many other ways to make sure students are covering content during the PBL project.

AI Gives Teachers More Time to Focus on What Matters Most

Most teachers I’ve talked to said they would teach differently if given more time. They’d spend more time one-on-one with students. They would assign more projects, make learning more hands-on, try new things. This is ultimately what I think AI offers most. It’s like an accelerant for planning, managing, and assessing. By leveraging AI to generate project ideas, streamline classroom management, connect with community partners, and integrate content, teachers can focus on what matters most: engaging students in meaningful, authentic learning experiences. AI can help you implement project-based learning that is authentic, relevant, and deeply impactful for students.

Want to learn more about PBL? Check out the Project-Based Learning Master Class at epicpbl.com