Prompt Engineering Challenge: From Basic to Expert

Activity Overview

Duration: 20 minutes
Format: Small group exercise (2-3 participants per group)
Materials Needed:

Laptops/devices with internet access
Access to ChatGPT, Claude, or another LLM
Printed prompt challenge worksheets
Timer

Learning Objectives:

Practice iterative prompt refinement
Identify key elements of effective engineering-focused prompts
Experience how small changes in prompting dramatically affect outputs
Develop discipline-specific prompting strategies

Facilitator Instructions

Pre-Workshop Setup

Prepare the challenge cards (see templates below)
Create mixed-discipline groups if possible
Ensure all participants have access to an AI tool
Set up timing notifications (5/10/15/20 minute markers)

Introduction (2 minutes)

Explain the concept of prompt engineering as a key skill
Outline the progressive nature of the challenge
Highlight importance of iteration and refinement

Activity Procedure (15 minutes)

Distribute challenge cards to each group, with each group receiving a different engineering scenario.
Basic Level (5 minutes):
- Groups craft an initial prompt based on their scenario
- Submit to AI tool and evaluate the response
- Note strengths and weaknesses of the response
Intermediate Level (5 minutes):
- Apply 2-3 prompt refinement techniques
- Submit revised prompt and compare results
- Document specific improvements
Advanced Level (5 minutes):
- Apply additional advanced techniques
- Create final "expert-level" prompt
- Submit and evaluate final output quality

Debrief (3 minutes)

Invite 1-2 groups to share their progression
Highlight key techniques that yielded improvements
Connect to discipline-specific considerations
Transition to how these skills apply to teaching contexts

Challenge Scenarios

Challenge 1: Engineering Concept Explanation

Scenario: You need an explanation of "finite element analysis" that your students can understand.

Basic Instructions:

Write a simple prompt asking for an explanation of finite element analysis
Submit and evaluate the response

Intermediate Refinement Tips:

Specify student level and background
Request specific elements in the explanation
Ask for analogies or visualizations

Advanced Refinement Tips:

Request misconceptions to address
Ask for discipline-specific applications
Specify formatting and length requirements

Challenge 2: Problem Generation

Scenario: You need to create homework problems on thermodynamic cycles.

Basic Instructions:

Write a simple prompt asking for thermodynamics problems
Submit and evaluate the response

Intermediate Refinement Tips:

Specify education level and prior knowledge
Request specific types of problems
Include difficulty progression

Advanced Refinement Tips:

Specify required calculations
Request real-world applications
Ask for common student error warnings

Challenge 3: Design Challenge Creation

Scenario: You need to create a multi-week design challenge for a senior engineering course.

Basic Instructions:

Write a simple prompt asking for an engineering design challenge
Submit and evaluate the response

Intermediate Refinement Tips:

Specify discipline and course context
Include constraint parameters
Request project milestones

Advanced Refinement Tips:

Request assessment rubric elements
Include industry relevance aspects
Ask for scaffolded learning components

Challenge 4: Lab Procedure Development

Scenario: You need to create a lab procedure for measuring mechanical properties of materials.

Basic Instructions:

Write a simple prompt asking for a materials testing lab
Submit and evaluate the response

Intermediate Refinement Tips:

Specify equipment available
Request safety considerations
Include time constraints

Advanced Refinement Tips:

Request troubleshooting guidance
Ask for data analysis instructions
Include connections to theoretical concepts

Challenge 5: Code Documentation

Scenario: You need to create documentation for engineering simulation code.

Basic Instructions:

Write a simple prompt asking for code documentation
Submit and evaluate the response

Intermediate Refinement Tips:

Specify programming language and purpose
Request specific documentation elements
Include student knowledge level

Advanced Refinement Tips:

Request explanation of engineering principles in comments
Ask for test cases
Include error handling documentation

Worksheet Template

# Prompt Engineering Challenge Worksheet

Team Members: _______________________________________________

Challenge Scenario: _________________________________________

## Round 1: Basic Prompt

Your Prompt:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Response Quality Assessment (1-5 scale):
- Accuracy: _____
- Clarity: _____
- Relevance: _____
- Completeness: _____

Identified Issues:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

## Round 2: Intermediate Refinement

Techniques Applied:
□ Specified audience/level
□ Added context/constraints
□ Requested specific format
□ Included purpose/goals
□ Other: _______________

Revised Prompt:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Improvements Observed:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

## Round 3: Advanced Refinement

Additional Techniques Applied:
□ Added discipline-specific elements
□ Requested examples/counter-examples
□ Included evaluation criteria
□ Specified limitations/scope
□ Other: _______________

Final Expert Prompt:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Final Response Quality Assessment (1-5 scale):
- Accuracy: _____
- Clarity: _____
- Relevance: _____
- Completeness: _____

Most Effective Refinement Technique:
___________________________________________________________________________

How This Could Apply to Your Teaching:
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Discussion Guide

After completing the activity, facilitate a brief discussion around these questions:

Which refinement techniques created the most significant improvements?
What discipline-specific elements did you find important to include?
How might you teach prompt engineering skills to your students?
What surprised you about how the AI responded to different prompts?
How might you apply these techniques to create better learning materials?

Facilitation Tips

Encourage groups to make significant changes between iterations
Remind participants to document their prompts exactly as submitted
If a group gets stuck, suggest they look at the refinement tips
For groups that finish early, challenge them to try a different scenario
Watch for interesting examples to highlight during the debrief

Example Progression (for Facilitator Reference)

Challenge 1: Engineering Concept Explanation

Basic Prompt:

Explain finite element analysis.

Intermediate Prompt:

Explain finite element analysis to sophomore mechanical engineering students 
who have taken calculus and basic mechanics courses. Include a simple analogy 
and explain why it's important in engineering design.

Advanced Prompt:

I need to explain finite element analysis to sophomore mechanical engineering 
students who have completed calculus, differential equations, and mechanics 
of materials.

Please provide:
1. A 2-3 sentence definition using terminology appropriate for their level
2. A real-world analogy that makes the concept intuitive
3. A simple visual explanation I could draw on a whiteboard
4. The fundamental mathematical concept in basic terms
5. Two specific engineering applications (one in structural analysis, one in heat transfer)
6. Common misconceptions students have about FEA
7. A distinction between when FEA is necessary vs. when analytical methods suffice

Keep the entire explanation under 500 words and use language that balances 
technical accuracy with accessibility.

This activity was developed for the "Strategies for Integrating Generative AI in Engineering Education" workshop at Penn State's Leonhard Center in collaboration with Claude-3.7 Sonnet.