Summary
In this activity, students will explore how AI can serve as a personalized tutor to support their learning in challenging subject areas. Students will also create their own tutoring prompts and practice using prompts developed by their peers to enhance understanding and collaboration.
Essential Question
How can I effectively use AI tools to support my learning and improve my understanding of challenging concepts?
Snapshot
Engage
Students critique AI-generated responses to determine more effective prompting strategies for eliciting accurate and relevant content.
Explore
Students participate in a tutoring session with AI.
Explain
Students identify and summarize best practices for developing effective AI tutoring prompts by analyzing an article to assist with producing relevant and accurate AI-generated responses.
Extend
Students will develop and demonstrate their understanding of effective AI prompting techniques by applying them during tutoring sessions of their content choice.
Evaluate
Students will self-asses their understanding of how AI can be used as a tutoring tool.
Materials List
Student devices with access to AI tools (see Preparation section)
Lesson Slides (attached)
AI Tutoring Notecatcher (attached; one per student)
Writing Effective Prompts for Generative AI (attached; one per student)
Critique the Bot (attached; one per student)
Learning Goal
Explore how to customize AI tools through prompting to support learning needs and give feedback on prompts created by other students.
Before You Begin
This activity is designed as a follow-up to Bots in the Classroom: The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Classroom. If students have not yet completed Part 1, it is strongly recommended they do so prior to beginning this lesson. Part 1 provides foundational knowledge and ethical framing that will help students engage more meaningfully with the AI applications explored in Part 2.
Preparation
Prior to facilitating this activity, select an AI chatbot or tool for students to use for this activity. Ensure that the tool complies with your district’s AI use policies and that it can be accessed by students. Some recommended tools are:
Before using any AI system, please be aware that most AI platforms and tools require users to be at least 13 years of age in compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and other applicable privacy regulations.
If a student is under the age of 13, they must have verifiable parental or guardian consent or be directly supervised by a teacher or school administrator when using this tool. Teachers are responsible for ensuring that students under 18 use AI systems in a safe, ethical, and age-appropriate manner and in alignment with school and district policies.
Teachers should consult their district’s guidelines and technology use policies before introducing AI tools in the classroom to ensure compliance with local regulations and data privacy requirements.
By continuing to use any AI system, users confirm they meet the minimum age requirement or have obtained the appropriate consent and supervision.
Engage
10 Minute(s)
Use slides 2–3 from the attached Lesson Slides to introduce the topic and learning objective.
Distribute the Critique the Bot handout to each student.
Display slide 4. Introduce the Critique the Bot instructional strategy by having students read the prompt on the handout and then review the AI-generated feedback shown below it. Ask students to determine which response they find more helpful from a student perspective. Encourage them to mark any observations, concerns, or differences they notice between the two responses. Allow approximately five minutes for students to read and analyze the content individually.
After the critique is complete, transition to slide 5 and explain the Think-Pair-Share strategy. Have students find an Elbow Partner (someone seated next to them) and discuss which response they preferred, what stood out to them, and whether they agreed or disagreed with their partner’s interpretation. After two minutes of discussion, invite pairs to share their thoughts with the whole group.
Explore
25 Minute(s)
Next, move to slide 6 and have students get out their internet connected devices. Help them navigate to the AI program you have chosen for them to work with. Once students are all on the program, show them how to copy and paste the example prompt into the program.
Direct students to spend 10 minutes working through the tutoring conversation, then start the 10-minute timer.
Once the time is up, display slide 7 and introduce the Stand Up, Sit Down strategy. Ask students to write down the three most important takeaways from the tutoring session. Have all students stand. Then, one at a time, students will share one item from their list. If a student hears a response that also appears on their own list, they should mark it off. As students share, record their responses on the board or chart paper to create a shared list of class takeaways. Once a student has either shared or marked off all three items from their list, they may sit down. Continue the process until all students are seated.
Explain
20 Minute(s)
Next, display slide 8 and distribute the Writing Effective Prompts for Generative AI handout. Use this reference sheet to introduce students to the concept of writing effective prompts for AI programs. Explain that prompt writing is how people guide AI to respond in useful and specific ways. In this activity, students will learn how to craft prompts that help AI act as an academic tutor.
Provide each student with a printed copy of the example prompt used during the Explore section.
After distributing the materials, explain that effective prompts contain specific elements to help the AI understand what’s being asked. Review the four components—Task, Format, Voice, and Context—shown on slide 8. Then, move to slide 9, where the example prompt is color-coded or underlined by section, and guide students in identifying which parts of the prompt align with each of the four categories.
Extend
25 Minute(s)
Inform students that they will now be using what they’ve learned to create their own AI tutoring prompt. Display slide 10 and pass out the AI Tutoring Notecatcher handout. Ask students to pick a topic that they are struggling with or that is of interest to them.
Have students use one of the prompts presented during the Explore section and customize the prompt in a way they think will yield the best AI tutor possible.
Students should input the prompt to test the performance of the AI tutor. As they work, they should record their experiences and reflections in the AI Tutoring Notecatcher handout.
Ask students to take screenshots of their interaction with the AI tutor to share with you for evaluation.
Evaluate
10 Minute(s)
Display slide 12. Once the student is satisfied with their prompt and how the tutor interacts with the users, they should complete a 3-2-1 reflection on their own paper:
3 - Write three things you learned through this process
2 - What were two challenges you faced during this assignment?
1 - What is one thing that surprised you about AI, prompts, or its usefulness?
Facilitate a short debrief conversation to help students consider how they are feeling about using an AI tutor and what they think it could help them with in school.
Screenshots and participation in discussion can be used as forms of assessment.
Research Rationale
Resources
K20 Center. (n.d.). 3-2-1. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/117
K20 Center. (n.d.). Critique the bot. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/3491
K20 Center. (n.d.). Elbow partners. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/116
K20 Center. (n.d.). Stand up, sit down. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1771
K20 Center. (n.d.). Think-pair-share. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/139
