Group Activity: Redesigning Tasks with AI by Belén Mastellone

bmastellone — 2025-08-24 22:06:31 UTC

📍 Build strong relationships
When students feel seen, heard and safe, they show up differently; for themselves and for the learning.

📍 Promote autonomy and student voice
Choice empowers. Whether it's letting them select topics or co-create rubrics, ownership deepens investment.

📍 Make learning relevant
If they don’t see the “why,” they won’t commit to the “what.” Connect lessons to real life and student interests.

📍 Help students set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) and track their progress. Small wins fuel momentum.

📍 Recognize effort, strategy and progress
Praise the process, not just the product. Acknowledge the thinking, persistence and growth behind the scenes.

📍 Make it engaging and fun
Games, debates, projects, movement—joy is not the enemy of rigor. It’s the gateway to it.

📍 Foster peer support and collaboration
Students are deeply influenced by their peers. Build a community where they challenge and champion each other.

bmastellone — 2025-08-24 22:12:43 UTC

1️⃣ Choose one classroom task from the list.

2️⃣ In groups of 3–4, use AI as your partner to redesign the task, making it more engaging by applying the seven principles for boosting learner motivation (you’ll find them here in the Padlet).

3️⃣ Choose one of the chatbots from the list (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc.) — and if you have time, try using more than one and compare the results. Also check the tips for writing effective prompts.

4️⃣ Iterate! Don’t stop at the first answer AI gives you — refine and reshape until the task truly sparks engagement.

5️⃣ Post your redesigned task as a comment under the original one.

bmastellone — 2025-08-25 02:33:54 UTC

bmastellone — 2025-08-25 02:34:00 UTC

bmastellone — 2025-08-25 02:34:55 UTC

P-R-E-P-A-R-E-D

bmastellone — 2025-08-25 02:41:58 UTC

P – Precise Question: What do you need exactly? (e.g., “Design a 40-minute activity to practice past tense verbs.”)

R – Role & Context: Who are you, and who are you helping? (e.g., “Act as an expert English teacher helping students prepare for the B2 exam.”)

E – Exactness: What details are important (e.g., “The class has 25 students, intermediate level, with some struggling with writing.”)

P – Parameters: How do you want the answer to look? (e.g., “Give me a step-by-step lesson plan with timings and examples.”)

A – Add Clarifications: Does the AI need to know something else before answering? (e.g., “Focus on collaborative tasks, avoid multiple-choice activities.”)

R – Review: Is the answer good? Can it be improved? (e.g., “This activity is too basic, make it more challenging for advanced learners.”)

E – Evaluate & Refine: Can you refine the answer to make it clearer, deeper, or more useful? (e.g., “Rewrite the instructions so they’re student-friendly and add an example dialogue.”)

D – Documentation: Do you have any extra information that could help? (e.g., “Use the Cambridge B2 First exam format as a reference.”)

Vocabulary List

bmastellone — 2025-08-25 03:02:39 UTC

“Write 10 new words from the unit in your notebooks and copy their definitions.”

Environmental Issues

bmastellone — 2025-08-25 03:22:25 UTC

"Make a list of 10 environmental problems and their solutions"

Speaking Task

bmastellone — 2025-08-25 03:23:00 UTC

“Work in pairs and ask each other questions using the present continuous.”

Grammar Practice

bmastellone — 2025-08-25 03:23:39 UTC

Write 5 sentences using Present Perfect and Simple Past.

Writing Assignment

bmastellone — 2025-08-25 03:24:28 UTC

“Write a short paragraph about your weekend (80 words).”

Weekend Instagram Post

2025-08-25 21:32:47 UTC

Imagine you are writing an Instagram caption (80 words) about your weekend. Describe what you did, how you felt, add a photo and some emojis! 📸✨