Throughout all of last year, many of us experimented with GenAI tools: generating content, building adoption strategies, testing out various hypotheses, and just playing around to create lunch menus or travel itineraries. Although it was (and still is) incredibly fun, just testing AI tools isn't enough anymore. Now, it's high time we implement GenAI tools into our daily routines and use them like the seasoned professionals we are, boosting our efficiency and reclaiming precious time.
Where does AI fit in?
If you are a learning creator whose question is: "But how do I integrate it into my daily work?", the answer lies in a well-known instructional design mantra: "Start with a problem, not with a solution." Consider asking yourself these questions:
- What routine tasks do you get tired of often?
- What creative processes make you stuck the most?
- Where do you have time and budget constraints?
The answers to these might lead to areas where you can successfully integrate GenAI tools while simultaneously tackling challenges related to time and budget limitations, content complexity, learner diversity, and changing technologies.
But how do I take on AI confidently?
In short, the answer is—prompts. But to expand on that, you need to know how an effective prompt can be built and fine-tuned, which will later lead to your own collection of useful prompts. Or you can take a shortcut and borrow from a pre-existing collection of prompts, tackling existing challenges head-on. And that's precisely where this article comes into play – I'm about to share a treasure trove of battle-tested prompts with the hope that they equip you to embark confidently on your AI integration journey today.
Top 8 GenAI prompts for learning creators
Imagine starting a typical learning creation process and taking ADDIE as your default framework. There are prompts that can help you at any of those stages.
Analysis:
Here, AI becomes your trusted aide, helping you create learner analysis tools and condensing the results into an easy-to-digest format.
Prompt #1: “Act as an instructional designer. I'm solving a learning problem for [target audience] on the topic of [subject matter]. Generate a survey that identifies the learner's needs, preferences, and understanding of the subject matter.”
If you need your survey questions and answers to be formed in a specific manner, paste an example in the prompt and add, “Ensure all survey questions and answers are phrased in the following manner.”
Prompt #2: "[Copy and paste data from the survey results]. Based on this summary of learner needs and their learning environment, provide a detailed analysis report. What are the major challenges and opportunities, and how can our course design address them?"
If you need the report to have specific sections, include this instruction in the prompt.
Design:
GenAI chatbots can fully become your assistants during this stage: brainstorming, building, and structuring together with you.
Prompt #3: "Generate learning objectives for the course named [course name] for [target audience]. Use Bloom's Taxonomy and ensure learning objectives are actionable, measurable, and specific."
You can substitute Bloom's Taxonomy with any other you prefer and add more objective characteristics if necessary.
Prompt #4: “Create a detailed course outline for [course name] created for [target audience] that includes the following learning objectives [Learning objectives]. Generate module descriptions."
Development:
When your task is to structure, write, and summarize texts, create quizzes, or create other parts of learning experiences, GenAI can help with initial drafts or act as your reviewer.
Prompt #5: "I'm creating a lesson [lesson name] for [target audience] based on these learning objectives [learning objective]. Generate an introduction and a summary for this lesson."
You can stop here and get a decent draft, or, if possible, insert the lesson content you already have to get a better result: "Generate an introduction and a summary for this lesson based on the learning content provided below [content]."
Prompt #6: "Create four multiple choice questions assessing learners' knowledge based on these learning objectives [learning objectives]. Indicate the correct answer and provide feedback for the incorrect answer options. Ensure all answer choices are relevant and believable."
As with the prompt above, you can insert the lesson content into the prompt for better results.
Implementation:
In this stage, as the instructional materials meet the learners, GenAI can assist both in the set-up and the actual execution of the learning experience—prepping educators and prompting interactions.
Prompt #7: "Generate instructions for educators on how to effectively deliver [course name and description] and make the best use of provided learning materials [Insert material's description]."
Evaluation:
Here, GenAI takes center stage in developing comprehensive assessment methods to measure the effectiveness of the course.
Prompt #8: "Formulate a set of qualitative and quantitative post-course evaluation questions that assess learners' understanding and the effectiveness of the course materials."
As with other prompts, if you need certain metrics or sections to be included, make sure to indicate that in the prompt.
Conclusion
And that wraps it up! Take a leap and try out any of these prompts. You'll soon discover how easy it is to incorporate AI tools into your daily work.
Empowering instructional designers with these advanced tools isn't just about a faster design process but a complete transformation. While the individual strengths of a human instructional designer and AI are significant, the combination of the two brings about an extraordinary synergy. An instructional designer leveraging AI isn't just stronger; they're invincible!