13 Ideas to Start Using AI In The Classroom

Note: OpenAI’s Terms of Use for ChatGPT state that users must be 13 years of age and that any user under 18 must first get parental permission.  We’d advise checking with your administration before seeking parental permission.  The majority of the use cases in this article do not involve students directly using the chatbot.

Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t new – you’ve likely interacted with AI while banking, booking plane tickets, or surfing the web.  However, the release of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, made AI easily accessible to both students and teachers. The question now is: How can you start using AI in the classroom to lighten your workload or engage students?

If you’re interested in using AI in the classroom, take a look at these 13 creative ways teachers are leveraging ChatGPT right now.

Can AI reduce teacher workloads?

One study concluded that teachers are generally optimistic about the potential for AI to reduce their workload.  The same study also reported that teachers are not concerned that they’ll eventually be replaced by artificial intelligence

Ethical considerations are the primary concern, specifically the potential for students to become too heavily dependent on AI while completing academic tasks.

Why focus solely on ChatGPT?

According to explodingtopics.com, there are over 14,000 AI companies in the United States alone and about 58,000 worldwide. 

ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is simply one form of artificial intelligence in use today.  It also happens to be the most widely known.

For simplification, this article will focus on ways teachers can incorporate ChatGPT in their practice.  You can access ChatGPT (version 3.5) for free.

How does ChatGPT work?

ChatGPT is a chatbot that uses natural language processing to recreate human conversations or dialogue in text form – similar to customer service chatbots that have been around for several years. GPT stands for “Generative Pre-trained Transformer” in case you were up at night wondering.  

You start by inputting a question or a prompt…almost like starting a conversation with a human being.  The chatbot produces a response depending on the details of your question or prompt.  

Free ChatGPT3.5 vs. Paid Version ChatGPT4

*On November 6, 2023, Microsoft announced an updated version of ChatGPT-4 called ChatGPT-4 Turbo.

13 Ideas To Start Using AI In the Classroom

1. Use AI like a human teaching assistant with which you brainstorm ideas.

Need five types of project ideas instead of two?  Searching for a creative way to introduce a topic?  Have an idea but are not sure how to turn it into a learning activity in class?  

When thinking through ideas, teachers traditionally check in with colleagues, consult teaching materials, or look online for resources.  AI can step in whenever trusted colleagues are not around.  

Example Prompt: Provide me with a list of 5 creative ideas for a project 9th-grade students are doing on the Renaissance.  The materials available are basic art supplies like markers, crayons, and poster paper.  Every student has a laptop.

2. Create original, unique lesson plans.

You’ll get better results if your lesson prompt contains detailed instructions about the type of lesson output you hope to receive.  

Example Prompt: Take a look at the sample Lesson Plan prompt on the Member Resources page.

3. Ask AI to outline a slide show.

Need to put together a presentation on a topic for tomorrow?  The AI-generated result provides you with an organized look at what information (including image ideas) to add to each slide.  You can ask it to include slides for discussion or formative assessment in the middle of your lecture.

Example Prompt: Give me the outline for a 10-slide presentation about the hero’s journey. The presentation should include bullet points and visuals.  On two different slides of the presentation, provide students with a discussion question that we can use as a starting point for a class conversation about the hero’s journey.  The audience is an 8th-grade English class.

4. Ask AI to adapt a text to fit the different reading levels of your students.

Upload a text and ask ChatGPT to modify it for different reading levels. Differentiating instruction may be the most important use of AI in your teaching.  It can be useful for students for whom English is not their first language.

Example Prompt: Adapt the following text for students reading at a 7th grade reading level. (copy and paste your text here)

5. Increase student engagement by creatively adapting the text to match a desired audience, time period, perspective, or style.

Some examples of how ChatGPT can modify text are below, but the possibilities are endless.

• Ask ChatGPT to modify a speech to sound like it was written in the style of Abraham Lincoln.   
• Ask Chat GPT to create a flyer about the Stamp Act using the jargon of 18th-century American colonists. 
• Alter a textbook description of the smallpox vaccine to be from the perspective of the first person to receive the vaccine in 1796. The possibilities are endless. 

6. Use AI to play the role of a current or historical figure, scientist, philosopher, or politician.  Students can then interact with ChatGPT.

Example Prompts:

As if you were Albert Einstein talking to a group of 8th-grade science students in the year 2023, explain the theory of relativity so they could understand it.  Be ready for students to follow up with two or three clarifying questions.

As if you were Vladimir Putin talking to a group of 8th-grade geography students in the year 2023, explain why you chose to invade Ukraine so they could understand it.

7. Use AI to create questions about a text.

Upload a text and ask ChatGPT to create a quiz.  You can specify the number and type of questions as well as ask AI to supply an answer key.  (You can also ask ChatGPT to create several versions of the quiz.)

Example Prompt: Create a 10-question quiz about the following text.  The questions should all be multiple-choice.  Please provide me with an answer key.

8. Use AI to create journal prompts or discussion questions for a particular topic.

Example Prompt: Create a list of interesting student journal topics about the book To Kill a Mockingbird.  Each question should elicit about a half-page response, be open-ended, and require students to cite examples from the novel while also giving their opinion.

9. Use AI to help students prepare for quizzes or tests.

Additionally, Chat GPT can assist with exam preparation by providing practice questions, offering tips and strategies, and evaluating responses. It can adapt to individual learning styles and pace, ensuring that learners receive the necessary support and resources tailored to their specific needs.

Example Prompt: Provide me with a timeline of 8-10 major events in World War I.  Then, provide me with 3-4 bullet points with key ideas about each major event.  Finally, create a practice quiz about the ideas on the timeline.

10. Use AI to create your rubric for an assignment.

Depending on what you ask for, the result can include categories for assessment and rating scales.

Example Prompt: Create a rubric for an essay written by 11th-grade students.  The rubric should include three categories: Organization, Argument, and Conventions.  Each category should have four sections scored from 1-4 with 4 being the highest score.  Provide a brief description of each section.

11. Use AI to help students look critically at the writing process.

Given a writing prompt (which can be student-generated), ask ChatGPT for a response.  Then, in small groups, students discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the AI-generated response. They can even grade it based on a class rubric.

Example Prompt: Create a 300-word response to the following prompt: To what extent did Napoleon support the major causes of the French Revolution?  Support your answer with specific details. 

12. Use AI to give students feedback on their writing.

Ask students to upload a rubric (have AI create the rubric!) along with a draft of their writing.  ChatGPT will provide a rough score based on the rubric. If your prompt specifies, AI will also provide constructive feedback along with positive comments. 

13. Allow students to use AI to generate ideas.

Do you have a student say that they are stuck or need help coming up with an idea? Similar to using ChatGPT as a “teacher’s assistant” students can rely on AI to be their own personal assistant.  When students are stuck and need a burst of inspiration, ChatGPT can provide the same list of ideas that teachers traditionally put together for classes.

Example Prompts: 

Provide me with a list of 4-5 research questions about the effects of climate change.   

Create a list of keyword searches on the topic of the portrayal of females in advertising beginning in the 1950s to the present day.

ChatGPT provides you with templates.

Note: The program comes with a few pre-loaded templates as shown below.

Brad has taught history at the middle and high school levels for 19 years, almost exclusively in American public schools.  He has a master’s in educational technology and is passionate about elevating the status of professional educators.