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Chatbots & Curriculum:

A New Era for

K–12 Instructional Design

Tina Lauer, Ed.D.

Curriculum and Instruction Coordinator (Retired, as of July 1, 2026)

Adjunct Professor, Lindenwood University

*Images are AI generated.

From First Prompt to Instructional Thinking Partner…

Reimagining Curriculum Design in the Age of AI

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©Tina Lauer, 2026

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A Stroll Down

Memory Lane…

When was the first time you

used a Chatbot?

When was the first time you used a Chatbot?

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What is a chatbot?

A chatbot is conversational AI designed for dynamic, back-and-forth thinking. In instructional design, it serves as a thought partner—accelerating curriculum revision, standards alignment, scale development, and lesson ideation.
Its power lies in conversation: you shape the direction, refine the output, and build understanding through iteration.

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Understanding the AI Landscape

Conversational Thought Partners

ChatGPT | Claude | Gemini

Document-Based Assistants

NotebookLM | ChatPDF

Embedded Productivity AI

Copilot | Google Workspace AI

Education-Specific AI Platforms

MagicSchool | SchoolAI | PearStart | Khanmigo

The question isn’t “Which AI?” It’s “Which AI for this task?”

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Choosing the Right Tool for the Task…

A Quick Comparison

Feature	Open Conversational AI	Education-Specific AI Platforms
Interaction	Open dialogue	Structured inputs
Purpose	Exploration and ideation	Task production
Flexibility	Iterative & adaptive	Template-driven
Best For	Brainstorming & revision	Classroom-ready outputs

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Today’s focus is Open Conversational AI

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Strengthening Curriculum Design with AI

Refines essential questions and enduring understandings
Clarifies learning targets and success criteria
Strengthens alignment to state and national standards
Supports iterative revision of units and assessments
Surfaces alternative perspectives and instructional ideas

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Professional Guardrails for AI Use

Verify content & refine all outputs
Protect student data - NO Personal Identification Information (PII) uploads
Apply professional judgment
Keep pedagogy at the center

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I’m from Missouri.

But, you can replace MO to personalize the prompt to your specific standards.

https://chatgpt.com/share/685c14b7-6788-8012-83f8-3321627f7b02

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Type this prompt into your preferred chatbot. Replace ‘MO’ with your own state or national standards — and run it.

Take a minute to read the response.� What did you notice?� Was it aligned? Specific? Vague?� What worked? What didn’t?

I’ll show you what I received when I ran this. https://chatgpt.com/share/685c14b7-6788-8012-83f8-3321627f7b02 � Is yours similar?� And more importantly — does this meet your professional standard for curriculum alignment?

Turn and talk with someone near you about what you’re seeing. (give a few minutes to discuss)

Let’s hear two or three observations. What stood out? pause -- if no one answers, say… “One thing I noticed in mine was that it sounded polished — but not deeply aligned. But, notice how it ends by asking me what I’d like to do next and gives me some options to choose from. That’s the difference between a generator and a conversational partner.”

So let’s tell it what we want to do next. (go to next slide)

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Deepening the Prompt

If We Want More Detail, We Must Specify:

Exact standard language
Cognitive level (DOK/Bloom’s)
Desired format
Assessment expectations
Differentiation needs

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How I’ve Used AI in Curriculum Work

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Program Vision

K-12 Visual Arts (Rationale and Philosophy)

Curriculum Framework Development

Computer Science Essentials (Enduring Understandings and Learning Targets)
Industrial Technology (Enduring Understandings, Essential Questions, Learning Targets, and alignment to National Standards)
Accounting 1 (Transfer Goals)
Business Management & Web Design (Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions)

Assessment & Learning Design

Middle School Robotics (Breaking down the Standards, Learning Activities, Assessment & Extension)

Lesson Design

Elementary Computers Learning Plan (weekly lesson outline for the year)

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As I started using conversational AI in this real curriculum work—things like revising course frameworks, developing transfer goals, and writing enduring understandings—I noticed something interesting. The quality of the output depended entirely on how I framed the prompt.

Sometimes I’d get something useful. Other times it was vague, misaligned, or not quite what I needed. And I realized that the difference wasn’t the AI—it was the structure of the prompt.

So over time, through a lot of trial and error, I started noticing patterns in the prompts that worked best. That’s what eventually led me to develop what I now call the DESIGN Prompt Model™.

It’s essentially a way to structure prompts so that the AI understands the curriculum context, the cognitive expectations, and the format we actually need.

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DESIGN Prompt Model™

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Let’s Build a Prompt Using DESIGN

D - Define the task

Develop a proficiency scale

E - Establish Context

Aligned to MO ELA 7.RL.2.D

S - Specify Cognitive Level

Include progression from foundational understanding to transfer

I - Identify Format & Assessment

Organize into a 4 level scale (1 = Getting Started → 4 = Advanced)
Include sample assessment ideas

G - Guide Differentiation

Include supports and extension tasks

N - Notice & Refine

Run the prompt again and adjust language for clarity

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What Does That Prompt Look Like?

Develop a 7th grade ELA proficiency scale aligned to MO ELA RL.7.3.A.

Include student-friendly learning targets and a clear learning progression from foundational understanding to transfer.

Organize the scale into four levels labeled: 1 = Getting Started, 2 = In Progress, 3 = On Target, and 4 = Advanced. Clearly define Level 3 as the standard for proficiency. Provide sample assessment evidence aligned to each level.

Include differentiation ideas for below target learners and advanced learners.

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Does the Output Actually Match the Standard?

https://dese.mo.gov/media/pdf/curr-mls-ela-7-standards-with-examples

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“N” - Notice & Refine

What does the standard actually require students to do?

This is where we enter the N step of the DESIGN model — Notice and Refine. We’re not just accepting the AI response. We’re evaluating it against the standard.

First…What stands out about this standard? (give 20-30 seconds of reading time, then proceed with answers from the group)

Now, let’s look at what your AI Chatbot came up with. Link to the response I received from Gemini (Thinking mode) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XpxA8RzztidogpV0l18NU74x5TeWHBH9ESuZl0t2u4k/edit?usp=sharing

(I also tried it with the Pro version of Gemini - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NbsSQ8YiIRKLlIgVgUg-8UsT37WD4J1ozGKGmdUWRDo/edit?usp=sharing)

1️⃣ Did the AI capture what the standard actually expects students to do? What is the verb in this standard?

2️⃣ Did it match the level of rigor?

3️⃣ What might you refine in your prompt to improve the alignment?

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Notice & Refine:

Professional Judgment Matters

When reviewing AI output, ask:

Does the response truly align to the standard?
Does it reflect the expected level of thinking?
Are the learning targets and progressions clear?
What might need to be refined in the prompt?

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Try It Now: DESIGN a Prompt

Align a Lesson: Ask AI to align a lesson to standards

Example Resource: Elementary science lesson

Strengthen a Proficiency Scale or Rubric - Ask AI to improve clarity, progression, or assessment evidence.

Example Resource: Sample Proficiency Scale

Create Something New - Provide a standard and generate aligned learning targets, a lesson, or a scale.

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Use the DESIGN model to structure your prompt.

Choose one task:

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Reflect on Your Prompting

Did your first prompt give you what you needed?
If not, what did you refine or clarify?
How could AI support other curriculum tasks in your work?

Remember: Better prompts lead to better thinking partners.

Need more guidance? Check out this Gem!

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Key Takeaways

Conversational AI works best when prompts are intentional.

Use the DESIGN Prompt Model™ to guide your prompting:

D – Define the task

E – Establish context

S – Specify cognitive level

I – Identify format & assessment

G – Guide differentiation

N – Notice & refine

Resources:

Missouri Learning Standards
Google Notebook LM with MO State Curriculum Standards and Resources

Use as a guideline to create your own notebook for other standards.

DESIGN Prompt Model™ handout

Contact info: Tina Lauer, tnalau87@gmail.com

https://bit.ly/LAUEREDTECH

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Sneak Preview of my ISTE Google Booth Demo Slam:

Designing Learning Progressions in Minutes with NotebookLM