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ChatGPT and generative AI: 25 applications to support student engagement

In the fourth part of their series looking at 100 ways to use ChatGPT in higher education, Seb Dianati and Suman Laudari share 25 prompts for the AI tool to boost student engagement
Charles Darwin University
17 Oct 2023
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A robot acting as a lecturer

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To help higher education professionals understand, in practical terms, how generative AI could support their work, we are presenting 100 applications of ChatGPT over a five-part series. We have already shared an introduction to prompting generative AI for teaching and learning, followed by 25 prompts relating to teaching and assessment and 25 to support administrative tasks. Here, we focus on the AI tool鈥檚 potential to enhance student engagement. Below, you will find 25 examples of prompts that show how generative AI can help keep students interested, connected and motivated.

1.鈥係ummarise long-read articles and texts: Summarise this research paper on 鈥淪tudents as partners鈥 [insert up to 3,000 words]. Give me a list of dot points and include in-text references and a reference list. 

2.鈥侴enerate study materials, resources and in-class activities: Can you create study materials and resources for a third-year course in thermodynamics, including and in-class prompts for high-achieving and low-achieving students? Develop a specific resource for both cohorts. 

3.鈥侾rovide historical context: Provide historical context for the development of psychology. Outline the primary schools of thought for a first-year psychology course. Outline in chronological order, with the leading theorist of each thought identified. Provide a table of such and leave some answers blank. Provide solutions upside down for students to check their answers. Furthermore, generate story prompts from this to develop a new intro video for students to get them interested in the history of psychology. Make it engaging. 

4.鈥侴enerate social media strategies and student marketing campaigns for an upcoming event: Can you create a plan to increase student attendance for this extracurricular event on student employability? Identify the resources, timing and planning of the event that is due to be delivered in March 2024. Now, with the list of 18 recommendations provided above, develop a detailed plan and timing for each and put it into an Excel output file to share with others. 

5.鈥侱evelop interactive presentations and alternatives: Develop a slide deck on authentic assessment for a professional development workshop. Include headings and subheadings to each slide, and include references and five dot points for each slide. Identify the best font, size and format. Also, list a series of PowerPoint alternatives and online websites such as Canva and Prezi. Now, identify which ones are free to use. 

6.鈥侲valuate online learning resources tailored for universal design (UD): Ensure that my study materials on academic integrity [insert your own resource] meet universal design principles using the Centre for Applied Special Technology (CAST) principles of universal design

7.鈥侾rovide homework support to students or as an academic adviser: Act as an educational support adviser for students and provide support for students on the issue of marginal utility theory and explain it more simply and succinctly for a ninth-grade student. Develop a cheat sheet guide to different types of utility theory and compile a series of 10 questions and answers to help guide students. 

8.鈥侰reate simulations or games: Develop a learning game or simulations on any particular issue. 

9.鈥侱evelop virtual classroom breakout room activities: Develop a series of activities on ethics in health tailored for breakout rooms in Zoom, Teams or Blackboard Class, which are short but require collaborative input from all students. 

10.鈥侱evelop classroom-management strategies: Function as an academic teaching first-year master鈥檚 students in applied linguistics from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Set up a week-by-week strategy to help international students engage, collaborate, participate and be inclusive.

11.鈥侰reate an engaging student-facing public speech: Create an engaging and informative script that leverages generative AI capabilities to enhance student engagement. Design the script to capture and maintain student interest in a topic related to work-integrated learning placement opportunities to all first-year students. Incorporate strategies for active participation and interactivity. Conclude with a thought-provoking question or discussion prompt to stimulate classroom engagement and dialogue. 

12.鈥係tudent Excel assistance: Can you help me grasp the concept of Excel鈥檚 data validation feature? Could you provide guidance on recording and tweaking macros in Excel? Can you show me how to efficiently organise, analyse and evaluate my schoolwork using Excel, especially when it comes to spotting trends? 

13.鈥侾rovide an essay outline for this issue: Act as a lecturer and provide an outline for any essay on [insert details] and what are the 20 most important things to consider when developing an essay. 

14.鈥侰reate and solve maths problems: Use this regression of y = 3x + 15 and act as a maths teacher to help identify the main issues students have with this equation. Provide an explanation for each step and provide real-world examples of how this formula is important. 

15.鈥俆eaching writing skills: Help my students understand the difference between active and passive voice and how syntax and structure can improve their writing; here is an example paragraph, identify explicitly where they need to improve on and how to do it. 

16.鈥侫lgorithmic decision-making: Help my students make better decisions using AI. Suggest that they are an academic manager facing a difficult decision in the university. Use this scenario and generate a list of potential solutions, explaining the underlying algorithm used to determine these options. 

17.鈥俀uiz error detection and question formatting: Can you identify if my multiple-choice questions are incorrect, inconsistent, obvious, repetitive, distracting or double-barrelled? Do not give me answers to the questions; please check the wording of the question itself. 

18.鈥侫nalyse student report writing based on a rubric: Act as a teacher of a first-year business course and critique the following library database search for journal articles assessment from this student [ChatGPT derived] using this . Advise how the student could improve their writing to address assessment requirements adequately. [You can ask students to paste a couple of paragraphs from their essay or report into generative AI to analyse the writing.

19.鈥侷deas on responding to discussion posts: Respond to this student鈥檚 remark on the discussion post and offer three ways of looking at the problem. Be friendly and casual in your tone. Be supportive of their posts and outline a sentence that was interesting. Develop a follow-up question based on the post to generate more discussion for others to reply. 

20.鈥侴补尘颈蹿颈肠补迟颈辞苍: Assist me in designing games tailored for the course [please specify the course name and context]. Provide illustrative examples, formulate detailed lesson plans and enumerate tasks for both instructors and students. Additionally, highlight critical considerations to ensure the successful execution and integration of these games. 

21.鈥侾rovide instruction on assignments: Help me develop a list of instructions for the following task [specify the task] for my undergraduate students, the majority of whom speak English as a second language. As well as generating ideas, instruct students on homework for the following week and the list of learning outcomes relating to this task. 

22.鈥係upport with online technologies: Help my students understand the following concept on civil engineering using AutoCAD. Explain the steps they need to follow on the program to get them started, including how to download, install and edit using the tool. 

23.鈥侳oster creative writing: Can you generate 10 unique writing prompts or story ideas to inspire students鈥 creativity and help them overcome writer鈥檚 block on any particular issue? 

24.鈥係ummarise YouTube lectures and videos: Take this YouTube transcript from this one-hour professional development workshop and identify what are the 10 main key points. Now, turn these into questions in dot points for a presentation. 

25.鈥俇npack terminology and public discourse: Summarise the current understandings of neoliberalism and offer several perspectives and political ideologies relating to this provocative term. 

In our next resource in this five-part series, we will share 25 uses of generative AI that can support research and the scholarship of teaching and learning. Please note that prompts and applications of AI output should adhere to the fundamental values of the International Centre for Academic Integrity: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

Seb Dianati is an academic lead for digital learning initiatives, and Suman Laudari is a digital learning designer, both at Charles Darwin University.

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