Did you try to do project-based learning in your classroom, but had to give it up because it seemed too complex to handle?
As much as I have been a great believer that project-based learning was the best way to learn, I had to admit multiple times that my students were struggling with the driving question, understanding the topics their subject entails and finding valuable resources for their project. I devised multiple learning flows designed to make these processes easier to comprehend, but teachers and students were still stumbling upon them. That is one of the reasons why project-based learning has been know to be such an effective way to learn for so long, yet it is still barely adopted.
A big transformation came with AI. Tools like ChatGPT made it easier for students to get answers to these questions, but the secret sauce of getting the right type of help is in the prompt that students provide to the chatbot. Prompts that fail to cover all project requirements may not lead to the correct outcome, which is why a regular query in ChatGPT was not the best solution for it. A solution to this problem came when OpenAI invented the GPT, allowing to create custom ChatGPTs geared towards a specific purpose.
The Project Topic Advisor
In order to help students with these metacognitive challenges, we designed the Project Topic Advisor GPT to assist both K-12 and university level students and teachers in developing effective driving questions for projects, understanding the topics their subject entails, and generating project resources, focusing on grade-appropriate materials. Initially, the GPT asks the user about their education level, distinguishing between K-12 and university. If the user is in K-12, it will further inquire about their specific grade level. Based on the education level, the GPT provides tailored assistance in three areas: generating a driving question, understanding the topics their subject entails, or generating project resources. For driving questions, it assesses clarity, scope, and relevance, offering guidance to refine them. In subject topics, it provides the different topics that are necessary for answering the driving question. For project resources, it suggests materials aligning with the project’s goals and educational level and links to them. The GPT maintains a supportive and engaging tone, ensuring users feel confident and involved in their project planning.
The Project Topic Advisor provides clarity about the question they need to solve, the topics they need to investigate to solve it and which resources they can rely on to research it. Students can immediately embark on executing the project, feeling confident that they are being led in the right direction to solve the driving question. That can be a great relief for students because it can save them many false attempts to find the correct path to accomplish their goal.