Dublin, Ireland: PBL & AI Tools for Student’s Engagement and Effective Learning

Course Description

This course covers project-based teaching methods and inquiry-based approaches to foster classroom engagement and upskilling through student-led active content creation, while also teaching digital and AI tools for project-based learning (PBL).

The course is suitable for all educators and it will be adapted to their needs and school type (primary, secondary, VET).

In the first part, the content includes an in-depth overview of foundational concepts and lesson creation for PBL sessions in class. This will enable you to design impactful learning experiences.

In the second part, it specifically focuses on digital and AI tools for Project-Based Learning. Teachers will explore the new technologies' role in research, brainstorming, and content output. Crucially, the programme also covers the ethical integration of AI in education. Teachers will practice how to recognise AI use among students and will develop strategies for fairly assessing student projects that incorporate AI. Participants will also acquire the knowledge to use AI themselves, ethically and responsibly, in their professional practice.

In addition, this course gives space to explore how these innovative methods significantly boost student engagement, making their learning more real, hence effective. It also fosters crucial 21st-century skills for both learners and educators. These include critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and digital literacy.

Course Content

• Project-based learning steps and fundamental concepts
• Inquiry-based approach
• Project-Based Learning lesson creation
• Strategies to implement PBL in class to increase student’s engagement
• Digital and AI tools in project-based learning
• Basics prompt engineering for teachers
• Ethical AI use in education, teaching and learning
• Ethical AI as a Research Assistant & Information Curator
• Ethical AI for Idea Generation & Brainstorming
• Ethical AI for Project Output & Presentation
• Facilitating student-led content creations, AI-Supported PBL & Ethical Creation
• Assessment criteria in project-based learning

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

• Understand the core principles of Project-Based Learning and its applicability in the corriculum
• Incorporate curriculum topics into effective PBL units
• Create detailed, effective, manageable PBL lesson plans that strategically integrate digital and AI tools for project-based learning.
• Learn how to use AI to support students in brainstorming project ideas, defining questions, and identifying relevant resources.
• Guide students in using AI for information retrieval, summarising, and critically evaluating AI-generated information.
• Practice the use of AI for creative brainstorming, generating innovative solutions, and developing diverse project ideas.
• Gain insight into a variety of AI-powered activities to motivate students and boost their key competencies.
• Learn strategies to assist students in creating comprehensive project outputs with AI, including drafting, presentation design, and visual generation.
• Assess PBL products confidently, and evaluate students' learning of curriculum topics demonstrated through their projects.
• Increase their personal AI skills and enhance their professional development in applying AI to classroom methodologies.

Assessment and Certificates

Assessment of performance will be through delegate-completed portfolio of work. The final course certification for successful completion is a college-issued “Course Certificate of Completion”, for each module studied. In addition, where applicable, delegates will receive relevant EuroPass certificates.