What's On Your Mind? 003: It's just *Explaining*

Join us on "What's On Your Mind," a bite-sized podcast where hosts David Morgan and Ethan Marrs delve into the intricacies of education, pedagogy, technology, and much more. In this episode, we fall down the rabbit hole of prompt engineering, a term that may sound a little scary but really isn't as intimidating as you think.

Ethan, Chief Technology Officer at Mindjoy, and David, Head of Learning at Mindjoy, unpack the concept of prompt engineering and its relevance to teachers. With AI teacher bots transforming the classroom experience, prompt engineering becomes less of a daunting task and more of a skill that teachers already possess.

In our discussion, we touch on:

• The engagement with AI throughout the pedagogical journey
• The curse of knowledge and how to overcome it in instruction
• Using prompt iteration for desired outcomes
• AI as an enthusiastic trainee teacher with all the answers, just needing the right questions
• Practical classroom applications, like simulating court cases for criminology students

Some takeaways:

• Prompt engineering is essentially about giving clear instructions and fine-tuning them to get the desired response from AI – something teachers do naturally.
• The curse of knowledge: teachers need to remember not to assume what students (or AI) already know.
• Mindjoy’s platform makes it simple to integrate AI tutor bots into the learning experience.
• Role-playing activities with AI can stimulate practical understanding and make learning fun and dynamic.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify, Overcast, and YouTube.

Where to find Ethan and David:

• LinkedIn: Ethan Marrs - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanmarrs/
• X: @EthanMarrs - https://twitter.com/EthanMarrs
• LinkedIn: David Morgan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidlewismorgan/
• X: @LessonHacker - https://twitter.com/LessonHacker
• LinkedIn: Mindjoy - https://www.linkedin.com/company/67967454/admin/feed/posts/
• X: @teamMindjoy - https://twitter.com/TeamMindjoy

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Introductions
(01:01) Breaking down prompt engineering
(03:43) From knowing to teaching: considering what students don't know
(05:01) Prompting as teaching – explaining to AI tutors
(06:59) Iteration in AI prompting
(08:01) Creative AI uses in the classroom
(09:50) Teachers as natural prompt engineers

Referenced:

• Mindjoy: https://mindjoy.com/

For inquiries about the podcast, email david@mindjoy.com.