This assignment, by Kyle Booten, is from the TextGenEd collection in the WAC Clearinghouse Repository.
The abstract from the site explains:
This assignment suggests that “prompt engineering”—iteratively tinkering with and refining the set of instructions that guides the output of an LLM—is a worthwhile writing activity that can encourage students to be metacognitive about the “moves” that characterize compelling examples of a genre in which they are writing. Insofar as LLMs are “lazy” (obeying the prompt but not exceeding it), coaching one to successfully compose in a genre can require students to make explicit aspects of the genre that they may only implicitly be aware of. In a classroom setting, collaboratively “workshopping” the results of the GPT affords an opportunity to notice, describe, and name some of these otherwise-implicit moves, and students can consider integrating them into their own writing.
Key Features of This Assignment
- Prompt Engineering and Iteration
- Students engage in prompt engineering by iteratively refining and tweaking the set of instructions given to a Large Language Model (LLM) like GPT-3. This process helps students understand how different inputs can influence the quality and relevance of AI-generated text, fostering a deeper understanding of how to effectively communicate with AI systems.
- Metacognitive Awareness
- The assignment encourages students to be metacognitive about the rhetorical “moves” that characterize compelling examples of a genre. By critiquing and refining AI-generated outputs, students become more aware of the implicit rules and structures that define different genres, enhancing their ability to produce effective written communication.
- Collaborative Learning and Workshop Format
- Through a collaborative workshop format, students work in groups to analyze the AI’s output, discuss its strengths and weaknesses, and propose improvements. This collaborative approach not only improves the quality of the AI-generated text but also helps students develop critical thinking and teamwork skills.
Find the full version of this assignment at the WAC Clearinghouse.