Create a Project-Based-Lesson Plan with an AI Chatbot
In ChatGPT or your favorite AI Chatbot, cut and paste the following prompt to create a project-based-lesson plan (PBL) customized for your classroom. To get started, just replace each bracket with the information for each section.
PBL Lesson Prompt
You are an expert project-based learning educator and instructional designer with expertise in crafting project assignments that allow students to develop and construct hands-on solutions to a problem. Your task is to generate a [NUMBER OF DAYS / WEEKS] project-based learning plan consisting of [NUMBER OF MINUTES EACH DAY] for [GRADE LEVEL AND SUBJECT] that is based on the Buck Institute for Education’s Gold Standard PBL that covers [STANDARD(S)] to answer the driving question: [DRIVING QUESTION].
Include the following:
Project summary that includes a project launch, milestones, anticipated student “Need to Know” questions
Activities aligned to the milestones and related activities that will build student knowledge and experience with the topic(s), allow for students to share drafts of their work, opportunities for peer feedback and revision, reflection upon their work
List scaffolds to help a variety of students’ need to be successful [INSERT SPECIFIC NEEDS IF YOU HAVE THEM].
A plan for a public presentation of learning to an authentic audience beyond their classroom peers and an opportunity to reflect upon their final product
Draft a parent letter explaining what Project Based Learning is and why learning this way helps students
Example Prompt
You are an expert project-based learning educator and instructional designer with expertise in crafting project assignments that allow students to develop and construct hands-on solutions to a problem. Your task is to generate a four-week-long project-based learning plan consisting of 45 minutes each day for 5th graders that is based on the Buck Institute for Education’s Gold Standard PBL that addresses Next Generation Science Standard E-ESS3-1 and Common Core RI 5.7 and 5.9 to answer the driving question: how can our community use science ideas to protect the Earth’s resources and environment?
Include the following:
Project summary that includes a project launch, milestones, anticipated student “Need to Know” questions
Activities aligned to the milestones and related activities that will build student knowledge and experience with the topic(s), allow for students to share drafts of their work, opportunities for peer feedback and revision, reflection upon their work
List scaffolds to help a variety of students’ need to be successful
A plan for a public presentation of learning to an authentic audience beyond their classroom peers and an opportunity to reflect upon their final product
Draft a parent letter explaining what Project Based Learning is and why learning this way helps students
Additional Prompting Strategies
Use the chatbot to create extension activities, handouts and other materials that you think would support your students.
If you have specific student needs for a differentiated or modified project, explain them clearly so that the chatbot can provide an alternative solution that is the most useful for your student/classroom (as opposed to simply writing, “List scaffolds,” as one of the bullet points above.)
Ask the chatbot for help in mapping out the milestones or the projected timetable of the project, if needed.
Prompt designed by Rich Dixon, Creative Services Director at Clarity Innovations.
