prompt engineering

Four diverse university students practise prompting and source checking with an instructor at a library learning table

Journal Paper2026

A 90-minute GenAI literacy course improved knowledge, prompting, source checking and self-efficacy across 65 university sections

Allison E. Connell Pensky, Lydia E. Eckstein, Michael C. Melville, Laura O. Pottmeyer, Zach Mineroff, Avi Chawla, Judy Brooks, Chad Hershock, Marsha C. Lovett

Computers & Education

In a large experiment involving 1,368 undergraduate and graduate students across 65 university course sections, a 90-minute asynchronous GenAI learning module improved knowledge of how the technology works, prompt-engineering performance, fact- and source-checking, and self-efficacy. It did not improve critical evaluation of bias, showing that short foundational training needs deeper practice for responsible judgment.

generative AI literacyrandomized experimenthigher education

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A 90-minute GenAI literacy course improved knowledge, prompting, source checking and self-efficacy across 65 university sections

Pedagogy-grounded prompts improved DeepSeek-generated lesson plans, but classroom learning was not tested