This is the third in a series of articles about Generative AI in education. The first discussed the need for those in the education industry to realize the potential impact of AI in education. The second gave examples of how teachers can use AI to improve their workflow and learning materials. This article will discuss getting the most out of ChatGPT by creating better prompts—also known as prompt crafting.
The quality of responses generated by ChatGPT largely depends on the prompt the user provides. A well-crafted prompt can lead to more accurate, relevant, and creative responses, while a poorly written prompt can result in vague, uninspired responses. To maximize ChatGPT’s capabilities, it’s essential to understand the critical considerations for effective prompt writing (or "prompt engineering"). The primary elements of effective prompts for ChatGPT are context and clarity. Once you’ve mastered those, you can elevate your prompt craft to encourage open-ended responses and create templates for desired outcomes.
Context
Audience
Understanding the target audience is a crucial aspect of crafting prompts. Knowing the background, language proficiency, and preferences of the target audience can help you tailor your prompts to suit their needs. For example, suppose your audience is a middle school class learning about volcanoes. You can tell ChatGPT to “write for a seventh-grade class with limited knowledge of thermodynamics.” In addition, you could tell it to use “simple and clear language” or to “Explain photosynthesis in a way a 5th grader would understand.”
Domain
Tailoring the prompt to specific domains can also significantly improve the quality of ChatGPT responses. ChatGPT has been trained on a diverse range of texts, making it capable of generating responses for various topics. However, to get the best results, it’s important to provide a clear context for the task. For example, if you want ChatGPT to generate a response about a specific subject, such as finance or history, you should mention the subject in the prompt. You can tell ChatGPT from what perspective to respond, such as “Pretend you are an expert poet. Explain basic rhyming schemes found in poetry to a group of high school freshmen.” This will help ChatGPT understand the context and provide more relevant and accurate responses.
Tone
ChatGPT is trained to write in the tone you present in your prompt. If you want a funny answer, say so in your prompt. If you want a serious and professional tone, tell ChatGPT to respond that way. Be direct and consistent in the tone you want ChatGPT to use, and it will keep that tone throughout the chat. Consistency in the tone and style of prompts helps establish a clear and recognizable voice for ChatCPT’s responses.
Clarity
Specify the Task
This may seem obvious, but it's essential to clearly and specifically state the task you want ChatGPT to accomplish. Avoiding ambiguity and vagueness is crucial for effective, prompt writing. Ambiguous or vague prompts can lead to unclear or irrelevant responses. For example, a prompt like “What is the meaning of life?” is too broad and is likely to result in a general and unhelpful answer. On the other hand, a prompt like “write an essay on the meaning of life according to Western philosophy” provides a clearer context and is more likely to result in a more specific response. The more specific and detailed the prompt, the better the quality of the response will be.
Specify the Format
You can direct ChatGPT to respond in a particular format as well. Typically, ChatGPT writes in a verbose, narrative style. You can clarify responses by asking for a specifically formatted response. For example, when asking ChatGPT, “What were the causes and consequences of the Civil War?” you will get a narrative response. But you could add “respond with a bulleted list with headers for each section and two relevant discussion questions for each cause listed.” This will give you a clear response formatted for your use. The quality of the response improves with greater formatting detail. You can specify the number of words, key vocabulary to incorporate or any other specific and relevant information.
Using Templates
Once you’ve learned what works and doesn’t, you may want to experiment with creating templates for certain tasks. Testing and iterating your prompts is a crucial aspect of improving the quality of ChatGPT's responses. By testing different prompts and analyzing the results, you can gain insights into what works well, what doesn’t, and make adjustments as needed. ChatGPT is constantly being trained and updated, so you should try similar prompts over time to see how the generated responses change.
Prompt templates are a powerful tool for improving prompt writing and generating high-quality responses. By creating reusable prompt templates for common tasks, you can save time and effort in the future and ensure your prompts are consistent and well-structured. For example, you could create a prompt for writing a news article, an email, or a lesson plan and then use that template each time you have that task. While prompt templates are a great starting point, modifying them to suit specific needs is important.
Effective prompt writing is a crucial aspect of getting the best response from ChatGPT. By relating the context of your prompt and specifically stating things like task, tone, and format, the responses you generate will vastly improve. By following these recommendations, you can ensure you are getting the most out of generative AI.
Now, I know that some of you are uneasy about the prospect of artificial intelligence seeping into our classes and replacing teachers. I want you to remember these encouraging words that come straight from my heart. No really, they do...
Task: Write a script for a motivational speech
Audience: a group of tired, overworked teachers in February of a long school year
Act As: An inspirational school district leader
Voice and Style: use uplifting, inspirational language with a bit of humor. Use encouraging words
Subject: put teachers' minds at ease about the future of AI in education and remind them that the human connection of teacher to student is always going to be necessary. Add a joke that their jobs are not going to be replaced by robots.
Format: This speech should be engaging, using a few anecdotes and stories that relate to an overall inspirational message. Sustain engagement with counterintuitive points and elegant articulations.
In the midst of a long and challenging school year, I understand that many of you may be feeling tired and overworked and that the future of education, especially with the advent of artificial intelligence, may seem uncertain.
But let me tell you that the future of education is not a threat to your jobs but rather an opportunity for us to enhance the human connection in the classroom. AI is an incredible tool, but it can never replace the warmth and empathy of a dedicated teacher.
Think about it, AI can provide students with personalized learning experiences and help you grade assignments, but it can never understand the look in a student's eyes when they finally grasp a difficult concept or the thrill of seeing a student grow from year to year.
In fact, the future of education requires even more of the human touch, not less. As we move forward, the role of the teacher will shift from dispensing information to becoming a guide and mentor, supporting students on their individual learning journeys.
And, to lighten the mood, let me add that there is no need to worry about robots taking your jobs; they still can't do the 'cha-cha-slide' like we do at school dances.
So my friends, embrace the future with open arms, and don't forget, the value of your role in the classroom cannot be quantified by any algorithm. You are making a lasting impact on the lives of your students, and that is something no machine can ever replace.
Thank you, and keep up the great work!
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