Six Strategies for Getting the Most From AI

Enhancing Teaching with AI Technology

by Braxton Thornley

Large Language Models (LLMs) are strange: seemingly intelligent yet unable to reason, broadly useful yet prone to mistakes, generally robotic yet riddled with quirks. As teachers and students explore AI, many feel overwhelmed by its potential yet struggle to fully utilize it. While simple AI tasks don't require complex prompts, more challenging ones might.

Below are six recommendations for getting started:

1. Understand AI’s Limitations

As with all technology tools, LLMs come with limitations. Understanding these limitations is an important step in using AI effectively. 

• LLMs predict the next word and string words together based on statistical probability. They don't have the power to reason or understand concepts like humans do.

• LLMs are prone to generating inaccurate information, known as "hallucinations," when data is unavailable. This can result in confident but false assertions.

• "LLMs struggle to solve math problems effectively and often give circuitous explanations of their process. They should not be relied upon for computational purposes."

2. Provide a Persona

Once you have a firm grasp of the limitations you’re working within, it’s time to begin prompting. The first key component of an effective prompt is providing the AI with a job or persona. Tell the AI the role it should fulfill. 

3. Define the Goal

After providing a persona, define the AI's goal. The clearer the instructions, the better. For example, “Your goal is to help me become a better writer, not necessarily fix my writing for me. You will accomplish this goal by asking questions more frequently than providing suggestions.”

4. Clarify the Context

At this step, you should tell the AI more about its audience. If I were creating a custom chatbot for students, I might tell the AI my students’ ages and the content area for my course. In this case, because I am the one who will be interacting with the AI, I would provide details about myself that would help the AI fine-tune its responses to me: “I am an experienced writer with a bachelor’s degree in English. Please provide feedback accordingly.”

5. Guide the Process

The next step is to provide the AI tool with process-oriented instructions. How should it structure its responses, and when should it give one type of response rather than another? This step should make up the bulk of your prompt. In my prompt, I might write, “I will only provide you with five to six sentences of my writing at a time. After I provide you with a portion of my writing, point out two areas of potential improvement and ask which I’d like to address. I will choose one of the options. After I choose one of the options, generate three guiding questions that will help direct my revision process.”

6. Iterate and Revise

Working with AI is a skill that takes practice. As the old saying goes, if at first you don’t succeed, adjust your prompt and try again. You might also consider asking the AI what type of information it needs to reach the stated goal. 

Regardless of your process here, remember that all writing—including writing intended for AI—is iterative. However, if you’re still feeling stuck, we’ve included additional resources below!