Overview for Teachers

This lesson introduces students to the concept of role-playing in prompt engineering, showing how assigning specific characters or professions to AI can influence the tone, style, and content of the outputs.

Important Note

Please ensure you adhere to your school’s approved guidelines and AI policy before introducing this lesson to your students. It is important for educators to be familiar with this technology and its challenges, including the following: 

• Many AI tools require students to be at least 13 years old, and may require parental consent for those under 18 years old. Read the terms of service and privacy policy before using any AI tool, app, or website. 

• It is important to teach students about the safe and responsible guidelines of using AI at the start of every lesson.

• Generative AI tools may occasionally produce inaccurate or fabricated content. Verify the accuracy of AI outputs using discretion and critical thinking. 

• The outcomes of exercises in this toolkit may differ from provided examples, as they depend on your specific inputs and the AI tools employed.

Slide 1

Welcome the students to the class and briefly summarise the topic of prompt engineering in generative AI. Explain that today’s lesson is focused on the prompt technique of roleplaying.

Slide 2

Start by stressing the importance of ethical and responsible AI use. Encourage an open discussion on each of the guidelines presented, asking students for their input and any experiences they may have had with AI tools.

Slide 3

Ensure that all students have access to the necessary technological tools. Walk them through how to access and utilise the AI platforms that will be used during the lesson, offering assistance to those who might be less familiar with these tools.

*Note to Educators: you may choose any of the listed AI tools that is in line with your school’s policies.

Slide 4

Introduce the lesson's focus: the power of role-playing in AI prompts. Explain how assigning a role to AI can guide its responses in specific directions.

Slide 5

Discuss how role-playing in AI prompts involves assigning a specific character or profession to AI, influencing the tone and style of outputs.

Slide 6

Present examples such as “Act like Shakespeare,” “You are a food critic,” and “Act as a social media influencer.” Discuss how each of these roles could influence the AI's response.

Slide 7

Engage the class in a group exercise using the provided examples. This will allow students to see how different roles impact the AI’s responses.

Slide 8

Instruct students to use AI to enter in the prompts on screen. They will use AI to write haikus from different perspectives, like an 18th-century English poet and a social media influencer. Encourage creativity in role selection. 

Compare and contrast the differences in outputs just by changing the AI’s role.

Slide 9

For this exploration task, students can choose to work in pairs or independently. Encourage students to use the skills they have learned in this lesson to complete the task ahead. 

Slide 10

In this exercise, students are tasked to write a play scene about the mystery of Miss Violet’s missing gold jewellery. They will use AI to write alibis for three characters: Aruna, Tom, and Susan, each with a distinct personality.

Slide 11

Invite students to share their AI-written alibis and discuss how the role-playing prompts influenced the AI’s responses.

Slide 12

Summarise the key points of the lesson, focusing on the importance of refining and iterating prompts for effective AI interaction.