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ChatGPT Foundations for Teachers


Instructors: Kara McCloskey Mendes
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18,643 already enrolled
(356 reviews)
(356 reviews)
What you'll learn
Apply high-impact ChatGPT use cases to save time for daily classroom and administrative tasks
Adapt and personalize AI workflows to meet the specific needs of your students, subject area, and classroom context
Use AI responsibly and confidently with strong practices around privacy, and human-in-the-loop review
Skills you'll gain
Details to know
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

There are 7 modules in this course
This practical, introductory course helps K–12 educators move from curiosity to confident, everyday use of ChatGPT. Built specifically for teachers, it introduces the essentials of how ChatGPT works, how to navigate and personalize the tool, and how to apply it to real classroom and administrative tasks.
Across short, hands-on modules, you’ll explore core ChatGPT tools, learn how to write and refine effective prompts, and practice using AI for common educator workflows like lesson planning, communication, rubrics, and student support. You’ll see step-by-step demos, ready-to-use examples, and real classroom workflows from experienced educators. The course also emphasizes responsible, professional AI use, including data privacy and human judgment. By the end of this course, you will be able to: • Navigate and personalize ChatGPT for daily classroom and administrative tasks • Write and refine effective prompts using a clear prompting framework • Understand how to adapt and personalize top educator use cases to align with your unique classroom goals • Review outputs critically and use AI responsibly in a school setting
Welcome! We're so glad you're here to explore ChatGPT with us. This short module gives you a guided introduction to ChatGPT—how it works, how to move around the interface, and how to personalize it so it supports your teaching style. You’ll practice sending your first chat, engage helpful features like Memory and Custom Instructions, and begin to explore how these tools can save time and streamline everyday classroom tasks. By the end, you’ll be set up with the basics and ready to dive into the rest of the course.
What's included
1 video9 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Welcome!•1 minute
9 readings•Total 39 minutes
- What to Expect•5 minutes
- Privacy First: A Few Things to Keep in Mind•1 minute
- 💡Teacher Tip: Reimagine What's Possible•10 minutes
- Getting Started with ChatGPT's User Interface•5 minutes
- ✍️ Quick Activity—Send your first message•5 minutes
- Customising your ChatGPT•5 minutes
- 💡Teacher Tip: Custom Instructions•1 minute
- ✍️ Quick Activity—Custom Instructions •5 minutes
- 📝 Key Takeaways•2 minutes
1 assignment•Total 2 minutes
- Pre- Course Survey •2 minutes
By the end of this module, you’ll understand how ChatGPT works, how it forms responses, and how to use that knowledge to get clearer, more reliable, and more classroom-ready results.
What's included
7 readings
7 readings•Total 31 minutes
- How ChatGPT Generates Language•5 minutes
- ✍️ Quick Activity—Exploring Non-Determinism•5 minutes
- Why ChatGPT Can Make Mistakes•5 minutes
- Steering ChatGPT Effectively•5 minutes
- 💡Teacher Tip: How to Challenge Your Thinking•1 minute
- ✍️ Quick Activity—Exploring Steerability •5 minutes
- 📝 Key Takeaways•5 minutes
In this module, you’ll learn the art of 'prompting'—how to talk to AI to get exactly what you need. We'll introduce a simple yet powerful framework (Task, Context, Expectation) that turns requests into clear instructions. You'll learn to write effective prompts from scratch and, just as importantly, how to refine them to get even better results.
What's included
7 readings2 assignments
7 readings•Total 27 minutes
- Introduction to Prompting with ChatGPT•5 minutes
- Write Better Prompts: Task, Context, Expectation•5 minutes
- If at First You Don't Succeed... Ask ChatGPT!•5 minutes
- How to Add Additional Context •5 minutes
- 💡Teacher Tip: Adding Context•1 minute
- A Quick Note on AI Grading•1 minute
- 📝 Key Takeaways•5 minutes
2 assignments•Total 15 minutes
- Knowledge Check•5 minutes
- ✍️ Quick Activity—Craft Your First Strong Prompt•10 minutes
From drafting parent emails to designing rubrics and brainstorming lesson hooks, these examples are designed for you to borrow, adapt, and make your own. Here’s a look at the practical ways teachers like you are using ChatGPT every day.
What's included
3 videos7 readings
3 videos•Total 10 minutes
- Casey's Top Use Cases for Admin: Writing a Parent Email•3 minutes
- Casey's Top Use Cases for Student Engagement: Design a Classroom Activity•3 minutes
- Casey's Top Use Cases for Instructional Planning & Design: Formative Assessment•3 minutes
7 readings•Total 31 minutes
- By Teachers, For Teachers•1 minute
- Use Cases for Administrative Work•5 minutes
- Use Cases for Student Engagement•5 minutes
- Use Cases for Instructional Planning & Design•5 minutes
- ✍️ Quick Activity—Make These Chats Your Own•5 minutes
- Share What Works For You•5 minutes
- 📝 Key Takeaways•5 minutes
It’s time to level up your toolkit! In this module, we’ll introduce you to essential tools that let you create images (ImageGen), collaborate on documents (Canvas), talk with AI hands-free (Voice Mode), and get up-to-date information from the web.
What's included
1 video11 readings2 assignments
1 video
- Exploring ChatGPT's Full Toolkit•0 minutes
11 readings•Total 54 minutes
- Why Tools Matter•2 minutes
- Tools for Brainstorm & Search•5 minutes
- Exploring Ideas and Finding Reliable Information with ChatGPT•5 minutes
- 💡Teacher Tip: Projects•1 minute
- Tools to Write & Edit•5 minutes
- Writing, Editing, and Adapting Classroom Materials with ChatGPT•5 minutes
- 💡Teacher Tip: Canvas Tool•1 minute
- Tools to Engage & Communicate•5 minutes
- Explaining, Illustrating, and Sharing Concepts with ChatGPT•10 minutes
- ✍️ Quick Activity—Write, See, Speak•10 minutes
- 📝 Key Takeaways•5 minutes
2 assignments•Total 10 minutes
- Knowledge Check•5 minutes
- Knowledge Check•5 minutes
As you start integrating AI into your work, it’s crucial to do so thoughtfully. This important module provides a simple, practical framework for using AI ethically and safely. We'll cover key principles like protecting student data, keeping a 'human in the loop,' and being transparent, so you can feel confident and prepared to be a responsible AI-powered educator.
What's included
1 video7 readings1 assignment
1 video•Total 2 minutes
- Spotlight: Common Sense Media•2 minutes
7 readings•Total 37 minutes
- Why Responsible Use Matters•5 minutes
- Principles for Responsible AI Use in Education•5 minutes
- Common Sense Media Resources•1 minute
- 💡Teacher Tip: AI Policy Guidelines•1 minute
- ✍️ Quick Activity—Roleplay!•10 minutes
- 📝 Key Takeaways•5 minutes
- 📚Additional Resources•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 5 minutes
- Knowledge Check •5 minutes
In this final module, we’ll summarize the key skills you’ve developed throughout the course. This recap will ensure you’re prepared for the ChatGPT Skills Assessment. Successfully completing this assessment will earn you your official Virtual Teacher Certificate. It's time to demonstrate your mastery. Let’s take this final step together to solidify your expertise!
What's included
1 video2 assignments
1 video•Total 1 minute
- Congratulations!•1 minute
2 assignments•Total 22 minutes
- Post- Course Survey•2 minutes
- ChatGPT Skills Assessment - Essentials Track•20 minutes
Instructors
Instructor ratings
We asked all learners to give feedback on our instructors based on the quality of their teaching style.


Offered by

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OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company whose mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. We build and operate AI systems like ChatGPT that help people and organizations solve real problems, learn faster, and work more creatively. Through research, safety work, and partnerships across education and industry, OpenAI helps learners apply AI responsibly and effectively in their everyday work.
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Reviewed on Dec 30, 2025
Really helpful, need part two for how to use chat gpt in science and math classroom and labs
Reviewed on Dec 15, 2025
This course is very useful especially for teachers. i come to know about in what way i give a prompt to get an expected output.
Reviewed on Dec 23, 2025
Solid overview of ChatGPT basics and how to do simple integration into the teaching profession.

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Frequently asked questions
This course is designed for teachers working with students in primary and secondary education. School staff, instructional coaches, and administrators may also find it useful.
This is a practical, applied course built to share how ChatGPT can be useful for teachers. No technical background or prior familiarity with ChatGPT required.
This course can be completed using any version of ChatGPT, including the free version, ChatGPT Plus, or an Enterprise workspace provided by your school or district.
Most learners complete the course within a few hours of self-paced study. You can move faster or slower to fit your schedule, since there are no deadlines.
To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
More questions
Financial aid available,
¹ Some assignments in this course are AI-graded. For these assignments, your data will be used in accordance with Coursera's Privacy Notice.