Many teachers are overwhelmed by the growing number of AI tools. At mycareerverse.ie, we encourage a more focused approach: use fewer tools, but use them well.
Rather than relying on prewritten prompts or AI-generated worksheets, teachers can get more meaningful results by prompting in the spirit of educators who fundamentally changed how we think about teaching and learning. This post outlines how to frame prompts based on the core philosophies of these influential thinkers.
| Educator | Core Educational Philosophy | Example AI Prompt |
|---|---|---|
| Maria Montessori | Child-led, hands-on, self-paced learning | “Generate a list of sensory, hands-on activities students can choose from to explore [topic].” |
| Paulo Freire | Critical pedagogy, dialogue, education as liberation | “Create discussion questions that challenge power structures in [topic] and allow for student voice.” |
| John Dewey | Learning by doing, democracy in education | “Design a real-world project based on [topic] that connects to students’ communities.” |
| bell hooks | Teaching as a practice of freedom and care | “Write a lesson plan on [topic] that makes space for personal stories and emotional reflection.” |
| Lev Vygotsky | Social development, Zone of Proximal Development | “Create three tiers of scaffolded questions for [topic]—beginner, intermediate, and advanced.” |
| Sugata Mitra | Self-organised learning environments (SOLE) | “Pose a big, open-ended question about [topic] to guide students in self-led research.” |
| Neil Postman | Media literacy, subversive teaching, critique of technology | “List critical questions students can use to analyse how [media/technology] influences their thinking.” |
| Howard Gardner | Multiple intelligences and learning diversity | “Create differentiated activities for [topic] using visual, musical, and physical approaches.” |
| Salman Khan | Mastery learning, short-form asynchronous content | “Break down [concept] into five short segments, each followed by a quick review question.” |
| Seymour Papert | Constructionism, learning through creation and coding | “Design a coding challenge where students model [topic] in Scratch or another platform.” |
Prompting in alignment with educational philosophy keeps teachers in control of their classroom values. Instead of producing generic outputs, you are designing intentional learning experiences that support:
This approach aligns with the UNESCO education framework, which encourages responsible, inclusive, and human-centred use of technology in education.
“Using the ideas of [Montessori/Freire/etc.], generate AI-supported teaching activities on [topic] that prioritise [student-led learning / critical thinking / differentiated instruction / creative output].”
This simple structure allows teachers to create AI prompts rooted in well-established pedagogical theory rather than relying on external prompt libraries.
mycareerverse.ie supports schools across Ireland in integrating AI responsibly and effectively. Our workshops help teachers to:
We offer sessions tailored for subject teachers, guidance counsellors, and school leadership, all aligned with national curriculum goals and the UNESCO framework for education in the digital age.
To find out more or to book a workshop, contact us at mycareerverse.ie.