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10156110 AI Prompt Engineering
Course Information
Description
This course introduces students to the rapidly evolving field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the practical skills needed to use AI tools effectively in academic, professional, and personal settings. Students explore the history, types, and current landscape of AI while gaining hands-on experience with major AI platforms. The course emphasizes prompt engineering, critical evaluation of AI-generated content, and ethical AI use. Students develop AI-assisted workflows to improve productivity, creativity, communication, and problem-solving while learning to design effective prompts, compare AI tools, refine AI output, and apply AI responsibly in real-world situations.
Total Credits
3

Course Competencies (Course Outcomes)
  1. Distinguish between the different types of AI and their historical development
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product
    Criteria
    Define artificial intelligence and distinguish it from traditional rule-based programming
    Describe key milestones in the history of AI, from early expert systems to modern generative A
    Distinguish between narrow AI, general AI, and generative AI
    Explain how machine learning differs from traditional programming approaches
    Identify real-world examples of different AI types and their applications
    Explain what large language models (LLMs) are and how they generate responses

  2. Compare major AI platforms
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product - Comparative Analysis
    Criteria
    Identify major AI platforms and tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and others
    Compare AI platforms based on capabilities, strengths, limitations, and appropriate use cases
    Select an effective AI tool for a given task
    Justify the selection of an AI tool
    Evaluate the output quality of different platforms given the same prompt
    Use at least two different AI platforms
    Describe the access models and usage limits of major AI platforms, including free, paid, and institutional tiers
    Explain how limit types (message caps, context windows, and feature gates) affect platform availability
    Select platforms strategically based on task requirements and current usage constraints

  3. Write prompts that effectively communicate intent to AI systems and produce high-quality outputs
    Assessment Strategies
    Skill Demonstration - Prompt Lab
    Criteria
    Identify the components of an effective prompt, including context, instruction, and desired output format
    Prompts produce focused, relevant, and high-quality AI response
    Prompts are clear and specific
    Identify common prompting errors and explain how to correct them
    Correlate prompt specificity to output quality through comparison examples
    Use iterative refinement to improve a prompt based on AI output
    Apply prompt structure strategies such as specifying role, format, tone, and constraints
    Explain how prompt specificity reduces unnecessary iteration and contributes to efficient use of platform message limits and resources

  4. Apply advanced prompting techniques including chain-of-thought reasoning, few-shot examples, role-playing, and system prompts to improve AI responses
    Assessment Strategies
    Project
    Criteria
    Apply chain-of-thought prompting to guide AI through multi-step reasoning tasks
    Use few-shot examples within a prompt to shape AI output style and format
    Construct role-playing prompts that assign a persona or area of expertise to an AI system
    Write and evaluate system prompts that set context, tone, and behavioral constraints
    Compare the effectiveness of basic versus advanced prompting techniques for a given task
    Combine multiple advanced techniques in a single prompt to optimize AI output

  5. Evaluate AI-generated output critically, identifying strengths, weaknesses, biases, and opportunities for refinement
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Product - Analysis
    Criteria
    Assess AI-generated content for factual accuracy and identify potential hallucinations
    Identify bias in AI output, including cultural, demographic, and perspective-based bias
    Evaluate the relevance, completeness, and quality of AI responses against the original prompt
    Apply a structured framework to critique AI output and document findings
    Propose specific prompt revisions to address weaknesses in AI-generated content
    Explain why AI systems may produce inaccurate, incomplete, or biased results

  6. Design and implement personal AI workflows that integrate multiple tools and platforms into coherent processes
    Assessment Strategies
    Project
    Criteria
    AI-assisted workflow addresses a real-world task or problem that can be improved
    Workflow is multi-step and integrates effective AI tools at each stage
    Workflow is implemented by executing the process using selected AI platforms
    Workflow is documented, including inputs, AI tools used, prompts, outputs, and refinements
    Evaluate the effectiveness of the workflow
    Identify opportunities for workflow improvement
    Demonstrate measurable gains in productivity or quality achieved through the AI workflow

  7. Analyze the limitations, ethical considerations, and responsible use of AI systems
    Assessment Strategies
    Written Reflection
    Criteria
    Identify key limitations of AI systems, including hallucination, bias, and knowledge cutoffs
    Explain intellectual property and copyright considerations when using AI-generated content
    Describe privacy risks associated with sharing sensitive information with AI tools
    Apply institutional and professional guidelines for the responsible use of AI
    Evaluate the ethical implications of AI use in academic, workplace, and personal contexts
    Articulate a personal framework for responsible AI use and decision-making