14 AI Terms Every Teacher Should Know

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping education, offering tools to streamline lesson planning, foster creativity, and enhance personalized learning. However, the world of AI can feel daunting without a roadmap to its vocabulary. This glossary breaks down key terms related to Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, using simple language and examples tailored for teachers.

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI refers to computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as understanding language, recognizing patterns, or solving problems.

Example for Teachers: Imagine an AI-powered tool that grades essays by analyzing content and providing constructive feedback, freeing up your time for other tasks. Like Braide, for instance. 

2. Large Language Model (LLM)

An LLM is a type of AI trained on massive amounts of text to understand and generate human-like responses. ChatGPT is one example.

Example for Teachers: You can ask an LLM to generate a week’s worth of lesson plans on fractions, complete with activities and assessment ideas.

3. Prompt

A prompt is the input or question you give to an AI model to generate a response. It’s the starting point for interaction.

Example for Teachers: Typing, “Create a 30-minute interactive history lesson about the Civil Rights Movement” into ChatGPT is your prompt.

4. Training Data

Training data refers to the text and information used to teach the AI how to understand and respond to prompts.

Example for Teachers: Think of training data as the AI’s library — it has read a lot of books and articles, but it doesn’t know your specific curriculum unless you teach it through specific prompts.

5. Natural Language Processing (NLP)

NLP is the technology that allows AI to understand and respond to human language in a natural way.

Example for Teachers: When you ask an AI to “write a quiz on Shakespeare’s sonnets,” NLP helps the model interpret your request and create the quiz.

6. Token

Tokens are chunks of text that the AI processes. They might be as small as a single letter or as large as a word.

Example for Teachers: When generating a 500-word essay, the AI processes your request in tokens, ensuring it doesn’t exceed its processing limit.

7. Bias

Bias in AI refers to tendencies in the model’s responses that reflect the biases in its training data.

Example for Teachers: If you ask an AI to describe a “famous scientist” and it only lists male scientists, this reflects bias in its training data. As a teacher, you can challenge the AI by prompting it to provide a more diverse list.

8. Generative AI

Generative AI refers to models that can create new content, like text, images, or music, based on prompts.

Example for Teachers: Use generative AI to create a fictional diary entry from the perspective of a historical figure for a creative writing exercise.

9. Fine-Tuning

Fine-tuning is the process of customizing an AI model for specific tasks or domains by training it on specialized data.

Example for Teachers: Imagine training an AI specifically on your school’s curriculum so it generates responses tailored to your teaching standards or lesson design template.

10. Hallucination

In AI, hallucination occurs when the model generates information that sounds plausible but is factually incorrect.

Example for Teachers: If the AI says, “Abraham Lincoln was the 3rd president of the United States,” it’s hallucinating — always verify outputs.

11. Iteration

Iteration refers to refining and reworking prompts or outputs to achieve better results.

Example for Teachers: If your initial prompt, “Create a science quiz for middle school,” results in too easy questions, you can iterate by asking, “Make the questions more challenging and include diagrams.”

12. Chatbot

A chatbot is an AI tool designed to simulate conversation and assist with tasks.

Example for Teachers: Deploy a chatbot in Google Classroom to answer frequently asked questions about assignments, saving you time.

13. Prompt Engineering

The art of crafting effective prompts to get the best outputs from an AI model.

Example for Teachers: Instead of “Write a lesson plan,” a well-engineered prompt would be, “Write a 45-minute lesson plan on photosynthesis for 7th-grade students in my Los Angeles classroom, including group activities and a 5-question quiz.”

14. Agent 

An agent is an AI system or program designed to perform tasks autonomously or semi-autonomously, often acting as an assistant or intermediary.

Example for Teachers: An AI agent could help manage classroom logistics, like organizing seating charts or tracking student progress over time.