AI School Part 3: Leveraging AI to enhance teaching and learning

Imagine having a teaching assistant who can generate creative ideas, streamline course design, and help you craft engaging assessments—all in minutes. That’s the promise of generative AI for educators.

At the recent All Extension Conference, we explored how educators can harness the power of AI to enhance their teaching practices. This article builds on that session, offering practical insights and tools to integrate AI into your teaching toolkit. This article is part three of the AI Summer School: Understanding Artificial Intelligence series.

Why Should Educators Explore AI?

We all strive to implement best practices in our teaching. However, these practices often require significant time and effort. AI tools offer a way to save time while maintaining high-quality instruction. Today we’ll explore two use cases for using AI in teaching: enhancing course content and improving assessments.

Use Case 1: Enhancing Course Content

AI can help you create clear, engaging content tailored to diverse learner needs.

Simplify Complex Concepts

• Use AI to pinpoint common misconceptions learners might have about your topic, helping you address potential confusion early.
• Generate step-by-step explanations or provide diverse examples to present the material in a way that is more relatable and easier to understand.

Structure Learning Modules

• Ask AI to create clear and concise introductions and conclusions for your Canvas modules, giving learners a strong framework for each topic.
• Use AI to rephrase complex or overly technical content to match the tone, reading level, and needs of your audience.

Polish Your Presentations

• Use tools like Microsoft Speaker Coach to rehearse your lectures, refine your delivery, and ensure your pacing and tone engage your audience.

Organize and Chunk Content

• Ask AI to break down dense information into smaller, more manageable sections, making it easier for learners to follow and retain key points.
• Use AI to identify areas in your content that could be enhanced with visuals, such as infographics or short videos, to reinforce key concepts and improve learner engagement.
• Note: While Extension does not support the use of AI-generated images or videos, AI can help you identify the types of visuals that would be most helpful to enhance your learners' understanding.

Use Case 2: Improving Assessments

AI can help streamline the creation of assessments that are not only accurate but also diverse and thought-provoking.

Generating Quiz Questions

• Use AI to draft quiz questions that align with the lesson’s learning objectives.
• Ask AI to create plausible incorrect answers to challenge learners' critical thinking and promote deeper understanding.

Writing Feedback

• Let AI help you craft constructive feedback for both correct and incorrect answers, offering learners guidance on how to improve and deepen their knowledge.

Building Scenarios

• Use AI to develop case studies or branching scenarios that apply course material to real-world situations, helping learners make connections between theory and practice.

Formative Assessments

• Quickly generate prompts for discussion posts or low-stakes activities that allow you to gauge learners' understanding throughout the course, adjusting instruction as needed.

Prompts to Support Your Teaching Practice

As you explore how AI can support your teaching practice, it's important to have clear, actionable prompts to guide your work. Below are some sample AI prompts designed to help you streamline your teaching tasks. These prompts can serve as starting points, but remember that each AI-generated output should be carefully reviewed and refined to ensure it aligns with your expertise and effectively meets your learners' needs.

Prompt 1: Designing Lesson Plans

"Design a [online/in-person] lesson plan on [lesson topic] for [level/age] learners, lasting [number] minutes. The lesson should be engaging, interactive, and aligned with best practices for effective instruction. Include:

• Clearly defined and measurable learning objectives.
• Key terms or concepts to introduce.
• A detailed lesson outline with pacing guidance.
• A hands-on or interactive activity that reinforces learning.
• An assessment to evaluate learners' understanding."

Prompt 2: Developing Assessments

"Create a [type/format] assessment (e.g., quiz, test, interactive activity) based on the provided [content/topic]. The assessment should be appropriate for [level/age] learners and align with the following [learning objectives/goals]. Include [specific question types] (e.g., true/false, multiple choice) with plausible incorrect answers. Provide clear and constructive feedback for both correct and incorrect responses."

Prompt 3: Creating Educational Videos

"Using the provided [lecture script/webinar transcript], segment the content into bite-sized videos, each no longer than 6 minutes. For each video:

• Identify a clear and focused topic or subtopic.
• Write a concise script that introduces the subtopic, explains key concepts, and ends with a summary or call to action.
• Suggest accompanying visuals or graphics to enhance understanding.
• Ensure transitions between videos are logical and connect to the overall lesson."

A Thoughtful Approach to AI

AI is not a replacement for educators but a tool to support and enhance your work. By using it as a brainstorming partner or idea generator, you can work more efficiently and focus your expertise where it matters most. Remember to critically review and refine all AI outputs to ensure they meet Extension’s standards and suit your learners.

Ready to try it? Start with one of the prompts above and discover how AI can empower you and your learners.




Article by Emma Morin, Extension Learning Technologies, morin167@umn.edu