Success Story

My First Experience with AI for Teaching Notes

One of my first experiences into using AI for teaching notes was during a course on Marketing. I was short on time, the lesson topic was complex, and I needed to make sure I hit all the key learning objectives. Instead of spending hours manually piecing together my notes, I decided to give ChatGPT a try.

Here’s how it went:

• I provided AI with a simple outline of the lesson: a session on supply and demand, with key concepts around market equilibrium and price elasticity.

• I prompted it to align the content with my course objectives and weave in real-world examples to make the lesson more engaging for students.

• The AI did an amazing job. In about 15 minutes, I had a set of teaching notes that were clear, concise, and aligned with my learning outcomes.

Best of all? I asked ChatGPT to generate discussion questions and quick assessments related to the lesson. These were spot on and saved me hours of prep time.

Why did it work? Because I gave the AI clear directions and prompts to follow. Plus, I fine-tuned the output to match my teaching style. Overall, it was a massive time-saver—a process that would have normally taken me a couple of hours was cut down to just under 30 minutes.

How to Create Amazing Teaching Notes with AI - 5 simple steps

Ready to give it a go? Here’s a simple process you can follow to create your own teaching notes with AI:

1. Start with Clear Objectives
   Write out the main topic of your lesson and the key learning outcomes. This gives AI a clear direction.

2. Decide on the Structure
   How do you want to organize your lesson? Start with an introduction, move to key concepts, discussion questions, and finish with an assessment. A clear flow helps AI craft coherent notes.

3. Use a Prompt Template
   Here’s the secret sauce! Below is the exact prompt I use to generate teaching notes.

4. Review and Refine
   AI isn’t perfect (yet!). Once the teaching notes are generated, tweak them to match your personal style and add any nuances or examples from your experience.

5. Save and Reuse
   Store the notes digitally and use them across different classes. You’ll be surprised at how easily they can be adapted for various topics and student needs.

Your Prompt Template for AI-Generated Teaching Notes

Here’s a prompt template that I’ve been using to streamline my lesson planning. Feel free to copy this and adjust it based on your subject:

"I’m preparing a lesson on [insert topic]. The key learning objective is for students to understand [insert key concept]. The lesson will be structured as follows: 1) Introduction to [insert topic], 2) Explanation of [insert key points], 3) Class discussion, 4) Example questions to assess understanding. Please create detailed teaching notes for this lesson, including definitions, real-life examples, and questions for students to reflect on the material."

Scenario Application

Let me walk you through how this could work for a lesson on environmental science:

Prompt:
"I’m preparing a lesson on the greenhouse effect. The key learning objective is for students to understand how human activity contributes to climate change. The lesson will be structured as follows: 1) Introduction to the greenhouse effect, 2) Explanation of how CO2 emissions impact the Earth’s atmosphere, 3) Class discussion on renewable energy solutions, 4) Example questions for reflection. Please create detailed teaching notes for this lesson."

AI Output:

• Introduction: "The greenhouse effect is the process by which the Earth's atmosphere traps heat from the sun, making the planet warmer. Without it, Earth would be too cold for life as we know it. However, human activity has significantly increased the amount of greenhouse gases, particularly CO2, in the atmosphere."

• Key Concepts:

  • "Greenhouse gases include CO2, methane, and water vapor."

  • "The burning of fossil fuels is the primary contributor to increased CO2 levels."

• Discussion Questions:

  • "How can reducing CO2 emissions help slow down global warming?"

  • "What role do renewable energy sources play in combating climate change?"

This output gives a solid foundation, and with some minor tweaks, you can prepare a dynamic and engaging lesson in record time.

Final Thoughts

AI is here to stay, and it can be a fantastic tool to help us create engaging, structured, and tailored teaching notes in less time. But as with any tool, it works best when we understand its strengths and limitations. Try it out for your next lesson and let me know how it goes!