AI Tools for Effective Teaching

Seventy minutes, five activities, one finished resource per teacher. The course turns hands-on from slide 8 onward, so every participant needs a laptop or phone and an account on at least one AI tool before the session starts.

• Set up before the room fills: one AI tool open on every screen
• Tell teachers to bring a real topic they teach next week
• Nobody leaves without a resource they will use

The five objectives are a checklist, not an introduction. Read them out at the start and return to them at the end, ticking each one against what the room produced.

• Objective 5 is the one that matters: a resource, finished, in hand
• Objectives 1 and 4 are the guardrails around the other three
• Every activity in the course maps to one of these five

Act as a teaching coach. I teach [YOUR SUBJECT] to
[YOUR LEARNERS].

List the five teaching tasks in my week that generative
AI would help with most, and the three it should not
touch. For each one, give the reason in a single
sentence.

Seven blocks, seventy minutes. Three are teaching and four are hands-on. Tell the room the split at the start so nobody settles in expecting a lecture.

• Blocks 1, 2 and 6 are taught from the front
• Blocks 3, 4, 5 and 7 are done on the participant's own screen
• Prompt engineering gets the longest slot because everything else depends on it

Act as a professional development facilitator.

I am running a 70-minute AI session for [NUMBER]
teachers of [SUBJECTS]. Their confidence with AI ranges
from none to daily use.

Give me one question to open each of these blocks that
works for both ends of that range:
1. AI in education
2. AI tools
3. Prompt engineering
4. Responsible AI

Keep each question under 20 words.

Generative means the tool writes something new each time rather than looking an answer up. It predicts likely words. It does not know your syllabus, your class, or whether what it wrote is true.

• Six school tasks worth handing over: planning, differentiation, feedback, quizzes, brainstorming, admin
• Support, never replace. The teacher stays the one who decides
• The four checks on any output: accuracy, relevance, bias, appropriateness

Act as a teacher of [YOUR SUBJECT].

Explain [YOUR TOPIC] twice: once for a beginner and
once for a learner preparing for a final assessment.

After each version, list the two statements I should
fact-check before I put this in front of a class, and
say why each one is worth checking.

Four tools, four jobs. Most teachers lose time because they open the wrong one. Give the room a one-line rule for each and the choice stops being a debate.

• Writing and thinking work goes to ChatGPT
• Anything already inside Word, Outlook or Teams goes to Copilot
• Anything inside Docs or Classroom goes to Gemini
• Anything a learner will look at goes to Canva

Act as a teacher of [YOUR SUBJECT]. My learners are
[LEVEL] with mixed English.

Write a 5-minute starter activity on [YOUR TOPIC] that
needs no printing and no internet.

Keep it under 150 words. Present it as numbered steps.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT Tutorial for Teachers

Accounts, pricing and the teacher workflows worth learning first.

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Microsoft Copilot

Meet Your AI Assistant for Education

Copilot inside the Microsoft tools your school already pays for.

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Google Gemini

Gemini in Google Classroom

Over thirty AI tools for educators sitting inside Classroom.

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Canva AI

Canva AI Tools for Education

Magic Write and Magic Media for slides, worksheets and visuals.

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Five parts turn a vague request into a usable teaching resource. Teachers who learn the five parts stop rewriting AI output and start using it. This is the longest block in the course for that reason.

• Miss context and the output comes back generic
• Miss constraints and it comes back too long
• Miss output format and you get an essay when you wanted a table

ROLE: Act as an experienced teacher of [YOUR SUBJECT].
CONTEXT: My learners are [NUMBER] students, [AGE OR
LEVEL], mixed ability, second-language English.
TASK: Create a 20-minute session on [YOUR TOPIC].
CONSTRAINTS: No printing. One whiteboard. Include one
worked local example. Under 400 words.
OUTPUT: A table with three columns: minute, what the
teacher does, what learners do.

One request written three ways. Weak returns something generic. Better adds role and audience. Strong adds the structure, and what comes back needs no editing.

• Weak to Better: adding role and learner level
• Better to Strong: adding the contents list and the language level
• The gap between weak and strong is wider than the gap between any two tools

Create a lesson about cybersecurity.

You are an IT instructor. Create a 30-minute
cybersecurity lesson for beginner adult learners.
Include 3 objectives, a 5-minute introduction,
2 activities, 5 quiz questions, and a 3-question exit
ticket. Use simple language.

Seven minutes, working alone then in pairs. Teachers rebuild the Excel prompt with all five parts and see how far a single rewrite moves the answer.

• Write it alone for four minutes, compare for three
• Mark which added line changed the answer most
• Finish with one improved prompt and one AI output on screen

Act as an IT skills trainer. My learners are office
administrators aged 25 to 45 who use Excel daily but
have never used formulas beyond SUM.

Write 8 practice questions on VLOOKUP and IF, moving
from easy to hard. For each question give the scenario,
the expected formula, and one common mistake learners
make.

Keep each question under 40 words. Present as a table
with four columns: number, scenario, formula, common
mistake.

Every teacher picks a topic from their own timetable and gets a 30-minute lesson back in one pass, then edits it down. This is where the course stops being theory.

• Objectives written in learner-facing language
• An introduction that opens the lesson in five minutes
• One main activity with the materials listed
• An assessment point and a differentiation note

Act as an experienced teacher of [YOUR SUBJECT].
My learners are [AGE / LEVEL / CLASS SIZE] and
[ONE THING THAT MAKES THIS CLASS HARD TO TEACH].

Create a 30-minute lesson on [YOUR TOPIC] with:
1. Three learning objectives
2. A 5-minute introduction
3. One main activity with materials listed
4. A short assessment at the end
5. One easier version and one harder version of the
   main activity

Constraints: no printing, one room, learners have
phones but no laptops.
Present it as a running order with minute markers.

Five questions and a marking key inside eight minutes. Asking for the explanation behind each answer is the part that catches the tool's errors.

• Two multiple-choice with wrong options that are real misconceptions
• Two short-answer questions with mark allocations
• One scenario question that tests application, not recall
• An answer key carrying the reasoning, not the letter alone

Act as an assessment writer for [YOUR SUBJECT].
Learners are [LEVEL]. Topic: [YOUR TOPIC].

Write 5 questions:
- 2 multiple choice, four options each, where the wrong
  options are real misconceptions rather than obvious
  fillers
- 2 short answer, 3 marks each
- 1 scenario-based question that tests application

Then give an answer key. For every answer, explain in
one sentence why it is correct and why the common wrong
answer is wrong.

Present questions and key as two separate sections.

One objective, three routes to it. Teachers usually name this as the module that saves them the most time, because writing three tiers by hand takes an evening.

• Hold the objective fixed and vary the support, never the goal
• Beginner gets scaffolding, sentence starters or a worked example
• Intermediate sits at the expected standard
• Advanced goes deeper rather than adding new content

Act as a teacher planning for a mixed-ability class.

Learning objective: [PASTE ONE OBJECTIVE].

Design three versions of ONE activity that all reach
this same objective:
- Beginner: extra scaffolding, sentence starters or a
  worked example
- Intermediate: the expected standard
- Advanced: an extension that goes deeper rather than
  adding new topics

For each version give the instructions I read out, the
time needed, and what success looks like.
Present as a three-column table.

Five rules that hold in any school, college or training centre. Read them out, then hand the room the prompt that makes AI check its own output before a teacher relies on it.

• No names, ID numbers, grades, medical or family details in a public tool
• Dates, figures, citations and legal points get checked against a real source
• Follow the policy your institution wrote, and ask for one if none exists
• AI drafts the resource. It never does the thinking an assessment measures
• Default output leans Western and reads above the level it claims

Review the teaching material below before I use it.

1. List any statement that needs fact-checking and say
   why.
2. Flag anything culturally narrow for a class with
   learners from [NUMBER] nationalities.
3. Estimate the reading level and say whether it matches
   [YOUR LEVEL].
4. Flag anything that would let a learner complete the
   task without learning the objective.

Material:
[PASTE YOUR MATERIAL]

Four scenarios, one question each time: does this go to AI, or does it stay with a person? Teachers sort them in pairs and defend the one that splits the room.

I am a teacher. Below are five tasks from my week.

Sort them into three groups:
1. Safe to hand to AI as a first draft
2. AI may assist, teacher must decide
3. Human judgment only, do not use AI

For each one give the reason in a single sentence, and
name the risk if I got the grouping wrong.

Tasks:
[PASTE FIVE OF YOUR OWN TASKS]

The whole course in one run. Every teacher leaves with a finished resource for a real class, not a sample. Five steps, ten minutes, one deliverable.

• A real task, needed this week, not a hypothetical one
• Draft, improve the prompt, regenerate. The second version is the keeper
• Check accuracy and suitability before it is saved
• Name the class and the day out loud to the room

Act as an experienced teacher of [YOUR SUBJECT].

I need [THE REAL TASK: a worksheet, a revision sheet, a
parent email, a set of feedback comments, a starter
activity] for [CLASS AND LEVEL] by [DAY].

Constraints: [TIME AVAILABLE, RESOURCES, LANGUAGE LEVEL]

Produce it in full, ready to use. Then list three
questions I should answer to make it better, and wait
for my replies before revising.

Five lines to carry out of the room. The fifth is the one that spreads the course beyond the people who attended it.

• The goal comes first. Starting with the tool produces resources looking for a lesson
• The prompt gap is wider than the gap between tools
• Every output is a first draft with an educator between it and a learner
• One shared prompt saves a department a week

Act as a teaching coach.

Here is a prompt I wrote and the output I received.
Tell me which of the five parts (role, context, task,
constraints, output format) was missing or weak,
rewrite the prompt, and explain in one line what your
rewrite will change about the answer.

My prompt:
[PASTE]

The output I received:
[PASTE]

Six lines. Print it, tape it inside a planner, or keep it open in a second tab. Fill the brackets and the prompt writes itself.

• The order matters less than the coverage
• Missing line 2 returns something generic
• Missing line 5 returns something too long
• Missing line 6 returns an essay when you wanted a table

Act as a [role]...
My learners are [level/background]...
Create [specific task]...
Include [requirements]...
Keep it within [time/length]...
Present it as [table/bullets/steps]...

Close on one resource, not a plan to redesign the course. Teachers who leave with one finished thing come back. Teachers who leave with an ambition do not.

• One resource this week beats a redesign next term
• Re-run one old resource a week and compare it with your original
• Save the prompts that worked into a shared department file

Act as a teaching coach.

Over the next two weeks I want to use AI for exactly
one task per week, starting small.

I teach [YOUR SUBJECT] to [YOUR LEARNERS]. Suggest two
tasks: one for week one that takes under 15 minutes and
has low risk if the output is imperfect, and one for
week two that builds on it.

For each, give me the prompt to use.

Copilot sits inside the Microsoft tools most institutions already license, so there is no new account and no new bill. For many teachers this is the lowest-friction way to start.

• Drafting and summarising without leaving Word or Outlook
• Meeting notes and follow-up actions out of Teams
• Content creation that stays inside the institution's tenant

Act as a teacher writing to parents.

Draft a short email about [TOPIC: a trip, an assessment
result, a change of timetable] for parents of
[CLASS AND LEVEL].

Keep it under 150 words, warm but factual, no jargon,
and end with one clear action and a deadline.

Give me two versions: one formal, one friendlier.

A purpose-built teaching module rather than a general chat window. The prompts are already shaped for lessons, so a teacher who finds a blank box intimidating gets further, faster.

• Lesson structures that arrive pre-formatted
• Less prompt writing, because the tool asks the questions
• A good bridge for staff who stalled on the blank page

Act as a curriculum planner.

I teach [YOUR SUBJECT] and have [NUMBER] lessons left
before [ASSESSMENT OR TERM END]. The topics still to
cover are:
[LIST YOUR TOPICS]

Build a lesson-by-lesson sequence. For each lesson give
the objective, the main activity, and what I check
before moving on.

Flag any topic that needs more than one lesson.
Present it as a table.