Positive Prompting

by Carly Ghantous

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be integrated into education, the way we interact with these tools matters more than ever. Instead of seeing AI as a shortcut for completing assignments, educators and students can use it as a true collaboration partner—enhancing learning without replacing critical thinking.?

The Role of AI in Collaborative Learning

AI has the potential to transform how students brainstorm, research, and study. However, responsible AI use requires clear guidelines. Before using any AI tool, students and educators should ask themselves:

• Is this safe?
• Is this ethical?
• Is this allowed?

Understanding the limitations and policies surrounding AI is crucial. Users should avoid sharing personal data and ensure they are complying with school policies and ethical standards.?The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction created a useful visual that can help educators teach students how to use AI within ethical boundaries. The 0-4 scale clearly defines for students when and how it is appropriate for using AI in the classroom, and provides guidelines for disclosing the use of AI. When students leave our classrooms, they will be using AI. It’s important that we as educators train them to do so responsibly.

AI as a Thought Partner

Rather than viewing AI as a tool that provides answers, it can be framed as a thought partner that helps students refine ideas, organize information, and explore new perspectives. One way to do that is to teach students how to write prompts that engage in conversation with the AI tool rather than just look for answers. By teaching students to use prompt frameworks, students can better articulate their needs and ensure AI-generated responses align with academic integrity.

The RASCEF framework, a structured approach to prompting AI effectively, is one of those strategies. When using the RASCEF framework, students have to use critical thinking to teach the AI necessary information for completing the task. If students submit their prompt transcripts along with their finished products, teachers can easily see that students understand the content based on the way they prompted the AI tool. In this way, the product creation–not the thinking process–is offloaded to the AI and students are still responsible for the content of their work.

AI for Brainstorming, Studying, and Research

When working with students, it’s important to frame the use of AI as being a partner for collaboration, not a way to copy information. In the absence of human interaction, students can use AI chatbots to deepen their understanding of concepts and streamline their work. Three ways that I often suggest to my students are:

1. Brainstorming Partner – AI can be used to generate and structure ideas by applying various thinking frameworks, such as those developed by The Prompt Warrior. Encouraging students to use AI in this way fosters creativity and deeper engagement with the subject matter.
2. Study Partner – AI-created study aids, like flashcards and practice quizzes, can support retention and comprehension. By guiding AI to summarize key concepts, students gain customized resources that reinforce learning. Teachers can also use AI in this way to create resources to use in the classroom like mnemonic devices, study guides, and practice questions.
3. Research Partner – AI tools can curate and summarize large amounts of information, helping students navigate sources more efficiently. However, fact-checking and critical evaluation remain essential skills in the research process.

Encouraging Ethical AI Use in Schools

AI’s role in education should enhance–not replace–student effort. Educators can model ethical AI use by setting clear expectations, demonstrating responsible prompting strategies, and fostering discussions about the implications of AI-generated content. By doing so, students learn to approach AI with curiosity, responsibility, and a collaborative mindset.