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Weekly Discussion Prompt for Use in AI Chat Tools

How to Respond to Student Initial Responses using AI

Affirmations List for Responding to Students in Discussion Forums

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Using AI in Discussion Forums

Weekly Discussion Prompt for Use in AI Chat Tools

A college student was asked to answer the following discussion prompt:

(insert weekly discussion question here)

Act as a college instructor and provide a 150 word response to the student regarding the following student forum posting. Maintain a professional, positive, but informal tone. Make certain that the response has a human touch and is relatable. Avoid overly simplistic or generic responses. Instead of simply summarizing the student's argument, critically evaluate its strengths and weaknesses.

Finish the response by generating a question that challenges the student to continue the discussion, further clarify the complexities of the issue, and consider alternative perspectives."

As this prompt will be used repeatedly, be sure to vary the positive feedback that you give to students as well as the structure and language of your response for each iteration.

(insert student response here)

How to Respond to Student Initial Responses using AI

Use an AI chat tool to respond to all student initial responses.

Google Gemini (https://gemini.google.com/app)

ChatGPT (https:chat.openai.com)

Microsoft Copilot (https://copilot.microsoft.com/chats)

Paste the instructor Response Prompt into the dialogue box of the AI chat tool, then replace the last line – “(insert student response here)” with the student’s initial response from the discussion forum. Press enter in the Chat AI tool to generate response.
Copy the response generated by the AI chat tool and paste it as a response to the student in the discussion forum. Add the student’s first name at the start of the post to personalize your response.
Skim through the response to be sure it makes sense. Optional: make any brief additions or deletions to make the response sound more natural and human.

Use a different AI chatbot each day that you reply to students. Each AI tool has its own “style” and rotating between them will help provide variety in our response styles that seem more human.