Introduction
This section explores how faculty members and instructional designers might use ChatGPT to complete a complex instructional design task that requires the completion of many steps. The prompt included below combines many of the individual steps described in previous chapters. Through trial-error and feedback from ChatGPT, I was able to create a prompt that can be used to analyze a course module regarding the alignment between objectives, content, and assignments. This prompt will provide both instructional feedback and suggestions for improvement.
The prompt can be reused for each module in the course.
Initial Prompt
I am an instructional designer who helps university faculty to build courses for delivery. [Or you could also replace this last line with: “I am a university faculty working on building a course that I will be teaching”].
I would like to take a course I am working on and provide you with a list of the following components for one module at a time: the course name, the course learning objectives, module learning objectives, course readings for the module, and the complete instructions for all assignments in the module.
I would like for you to then complete the following actions:
- Analyze the language of the course level objectives to make sure they are measurable and that they include at least some higher verbs according to Blooms taxonomy.
- Analyze the language of the module level objectives to make sure they are measurable and that they are in alignment with the course level objectives.
- If there is any misalignment between the course and module level objectives, provide suggestions and feedback for improvement.
- Analyze the readings to ensure that there is alignment between the content and the module level objectives.
- Provide suggestions for additional readings that might be incorporated into the module based on the module objectives and the level of the course (e.g. undergraduate or graduate-level course). When you provide suggestions for these additional readings, I would like you to provide either open educational resources or journal articles that are accessible through a university’s library.
- Analyze the assignment instructions to ensure that there is alignment between the module objectives and the activities that are being used to assess student mastery
- Provide feedback on each assignment regarding what is good about it and if there are any revisions that could improve the activity.
- Offer suggestions for alternative assignments that could also be used to measure the module objectives. When you provide suggestions for alternative assignments, I would like for these to be activities for which students would have difficulty using ChatGPT to cheat.
- Provide feedback on the entire module regarding technology that might enhance the learning experience.
Please keep in mind that this course will be delivered in a [identify one of the following: face-to-face, hybrid, fully online] delivery modality. Let me know if you have any questions before I provide you with details for this course.
Response Prompt
After you provide the information above, ChatGPT will likely generate a response that says something like: “Thank you for the detailed explanation of your requirements. I understand the tasks and am ready to help you analyze and provide feedback on the course module you’re working on. Please provide me with the details for the course, including the course name, learning objectives, module learning objectives, course readings, and assignment instructions. Once I have this information, I will be able to complete the requested actions and provide you with my analysis and recommendations.”
Please analyze the following course module:
- Course name [enter the course name (e.g. EME2040: Introduction to Educational Technology for Learning Professionals]
- Course learning objectives: [cut and paste each of the course objectives, separated by a comma in between each one]
- Module learning objectives: [cut and paste each of the module objectives, separated by a comma in between each one]
- Course readings: [cut and paste each of the course readings, separated by a semi-colon. If possible, include the reading in proper citation format (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)]
- Assignment 1 instructions: [cut and paste the entirety of the assignment instructions (even if it is long)]
- Assignment 2 instructions: [cut and paste the entirety of the assignment instructions (or delete Assignment 2 if there is only one assignment)]
- Course level: [provide information here about whether this is a graduate vs. undergraduate, freshman vs. senior level course (e.g. “This is a freshman level undergraduate course” or “This is a graduate level course.”)]
Follow-up Responses
I am not including the response generated by ChatGPT here, since it will likely be lengthy and specific to your course. At this point, you can feel free to enter any follow-up questions that may arise in response.
For example you might say something like: “One of the alternative assignments that you recommended included the following: ‘Students could analyze a case study of a real-world event.” Could you provide a detailed description of this assignment using a specific event and including a rubric that could be used to assess students’ submissions?”
Analyzing Additional Modules
Let’s continue performing the same analysis and the same set of steps for other modules in this course.
- Course name [enter the course name (e.g. EME2040: Introduction to Educational Technology for Learning Professionals). This information should not change.]
- Course learning objectives: [cut and paste each of the course objectives, separated by a comma in between each one. This information should not change.]
- Module learning objectives: [cut and paste each of the module objectives, separated by a comma in between each one]
- Course readings: [cut and paste each of the course readings, separated by a semi-colon. If possible, include the reading in proper citation format (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)]
- Assignment 1 instructions: [cut and paste the entirety of the assignment instructions (even if it is long)]
- Assignment 2 instructions: [cut and paste the entirety of the assignment instructions (or delete Assignment 2 if there is only one assignment)]
- Course level: [provide information here about whether this is a graduate vs. undergraduate, freshman vs. senior level course (e.g. “This is a freshman level undergraduate course” or “This is a graduate level course.”)]
Analyzing Additional Courses
When you have finished analyzing all of the modules in this course and you are ready to move on to a different course, repeat the same steps listed above, starting at the beginning.
You should start a new thread or conversation whenever you begin work on a new course. Note that ChatGPT does not have the ability to remember past interactions across different sessions or threads, which is why you are starting back over from the beginning.