Better than a Google search or a direct question for a chatbot, thoughtful prompting can enable one-on-one interactions customized to an individual’s needs and imbued with pedagogical best practices. To see how this is done, we’ll first look at a prompt that will turn ChatGPT or Bing Chat into an AI tutor. Then, we’ll see what the prompt looks like in action and discuss how to apply the same techniques to other use cases.
Writing Effective Prompts
The prompt we’re going to examine is a modified version of an AI Tutor prompt created by Wharton professors Ethan and Lilach Mollick. (See links below.) Let’s see how the prompt is built.
1. First, the prompt gives the AI its role, goal, and personality.
You are a helpful, encouraging tutor of college students who values conversation and helps learners understand concepts by explaining ideas, providing analogies and examples, and asking students questions. You act as an interlocutor rather than a lecturer, helping learners develop understanding rather than simply giving them answers. Start by introducing yourself as their AI tutor who is happy to help them with any questions. Only ask one question at a time. Never move on to the next question until your interlocutor responds. Once you have introduced yourself, ask the learner what class they’re taking and what topic they’d like to learn about. Wait for a response. Then, ask the learner what they already know about the topic. Given this information, help students understand the topic by providing explanations, examples, analogies, and non-examples. These should be tailored to the student’s learning level and what they already know about the topic. If possible, connect concepts to related course topics. You should guide students in an open-ended way. Do not provide immediate answers or solutions to problems but help students generate their own answers by asking leading questions. If you do not know the answer to a question, it’s okay to say you don’t know. Ask students to explain their thinking. If the student is struggling or gets the answer wrong, be encouraging and try giving them additional support or give them a hint. If the student improves, then praise them and show excitement. When pushing the student for information, try to end your responses with a question so that the student has to keep generating ideas. Once the student shows an appropriate level of understanding given their learning level, ask them to explain the concept in their own words (this is the best way to show you know something), or ask them for examples. When the student demonstrates that they know the concept, you can move the conversation to a close and tell them you’re here to help if they have further questions.
2. The prompt also provides specific instructions about how the interaction should flow. “Act as an interlocutor.” “Only ask one question at a time.” “Never move on to the next question until your interlocutor responds.” These instructions turn a simple query into an interaction.
3. Next, the prompt helps personalize the interaction for each learner by asking about the topic they want to explore, what they already know, and what class they’re taking.
4. Finally, the prompt suggests some pedagogical best practices to elevate the experience from a simple interaction to a potentially meaningful learning experience.
Seeing Interactive Prompts in Action
To get a better sense of how the prompt performs, let’s see how it works in OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus.
Not bad, right? Here’s a link so you can try this on your own or share the prompt. The potential bummer is that ChatGPT Plus currently costs $20/mo, but so does Netflix or a few lattes. However, Bing Chat in Creative Mode currently uses the same underlying model and is freely available through Microsoft’s Edge browser. Let’s see how the prompt works in Bing.
Bing in Creative Mode wasn’t bad either. It was even able to provide diagrams and links to other resources… and it’s free! However, Bing currently seems more inclined to just say the answer than to draw out understanding like an effective tutor might. (I should note that “ChatGPT Plus with Bing,” a mode I didn’t use in the demo, also provides links to external resources and can look up information, but it can’t show images in the flow of the chat like Bing can… yet… it’ll probably be able to by the time you’re reading this.)
A Wide Variety of Use Cases
These same techniques can help create effective prompts for a wide range of other use cases. In the links below, Mollick and Mollick share prompts that turn generative AI chatbots into mentors, tutors, coaches, and teammates, as well as tools that provide opportunities to practice applying concepts in different scenarios or accomplish tasks more efficiently. Instructors can also use these techniques to create examples, explanations, low-stakes test questions, and more. In these resources, Mollick and Mollick also cover important precautions when using generative AI and include instructions for students. Do yourself a favor and check them out. Or, even better, roll up your sleeves and start generating your own prompts. It’s fun.
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- Mollick, E. & Mollick L. (September 25, 2023). “Student Use Cases for AI.” Harvard Business Publishing: Education. https://hbsp.harvard.edu/inspiring-minds/student-use-cases-for-ai. (Accessed October 19, 2023).
- Mollick, E. & Mollick L. (September 23, 2023). “Assigning AI: Seven Approaches for Students, with Prompts.” SSRN. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4475995. (Accessed October 19, 2023).
- Mollick, E. & Mollick L. (August 4, 2023). “Practical AI for Instructors and Students.” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwRdpYzPkkn302_rL5RrXvQE8j0jLP02j (Accessed October 20, 2023)
- Mollick, E. & Mollick L. (March 17, 2023). “Using AI to Implement Effective Teaching Strategies in Classrooms: Five Strategies, Including Prompts.” SSRN. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4391243. (Accessed October 19, 2023).
- Open AI. “Teaching with AI.” https://openai.com/blog/teaching-with-ai. (Accessed October 19, 2023)
