Practical Ways To Get Started Using Claude For Educators
Maybe you’ve heard about Claude. Maybe you are using it.
Or, like millions of others, you haven’t heard of it and it is just another “AI tool” out there that is just like ChatGPT.
In any case, I think it is beneficial for educators who want to use Claude to help their work, and their student’s learning, to have some practical ways to get started.
I recently met with my AI-Ready School Leadership Cohort, and we spent some time discussing the potential of Claude for their work.
In this article I want to break down how to get started with Claude, where you can use it with a purpose, and why I love this as my “everyday AI tool” (and I’m someone who uses them all, or at least tries the majority of tools out there).
Getting Started
When you first sign up for Claude, you’ll notice they have a very specific commitment to responsible AI use in education:
At Anthropic, we believe AI has the power to fundamentally transform education for the better, but only if educators and universities lead the charge. We develop Claude with powerful safeguards to ensure it remains a beneficial tool for students, faculty, and administrators.
If you are completely new to using AI tools for education, I also suggest you check out the Anthropic Academy free course (4 lessons) on AI Fluency.
After signing up, you may want to jump right in to a prompt.
Don’t do that just yet.
My favorite way to start using Claude is to get it to know me, my role, and what purposes I’ll be using the tool for.
Your first prompt should look like this:
I want to best use Claude for my purposes and in my role. Please start by asking me 10 questions to get to know me and the best use cases for Claude as someone who is starting with this tool. Ask any follow-ups needed to best use Claude with intention and as a creative partner. Claude will then ask you at least 10 questions about your role, your work, and how you envision using this tool.
If you start this way, you’ll be ahead of 90% of people using AI chatbots like Claude.
But, what you’ll notice is that Claude is so much more than a chatbot.
Projects (and why you should be using them)
Projects are Claude’s way of organizing your collaboration with AI so that it has some working context and memory, as well as files you can upload for additional info.
You’ll notice you can add relevant context in the form of files, links from the web, or previous chats on the right side when working with projects.
The rest of the project feels like your normal chat, but with an organized thread so you can go back to it.
Imagine if you are an Elem teacher and you have a project for each separate subject you teach. Or a HS teacher and have one for each prep you teach.
You get the point. It’s extremely helpful and useful.
Artifacts (and why they matter)
You may not care at first about Claude Artifacts. But, they are extremely helpful for creative projects that go beyond a text response. Here are some good starting points.
If you want to create a website, a document, template, or even a game. Then artifacts is for you.
One of my favorite ways to get started with artifacts is by browsing the long list of ones that have already been created and checking for use cases or inspiration.
You also can always ask Claude while using it if there are any ways your responses or content would be better suited as an Artifact. Claude always give me good applications when prompted.
Putting It All Together In Practical Ways
I wanted to show you a simple way to get started using Claude for real practical ways as an educator. I’m sure you have all different types of priorities, but I always here “engagement”, “rigor”, and “scaffolding” as three big areas we are working on in schools.
First, I created a Project in Claude and fed it information about my work on AI Fluency, including two articles I wrote about AI-Compatible vs AI-Resistant learning experiences (and the need for both).
I prompted Claude to give me an overview of what it knew based on my uploaded information, and any questions it had.
Its answer was a brief text based response that was helpful for my next step.
After giving context I asked the following:
Can you create a practical guide for educators using Claude to help student learning using this as your base.
It created an awesome guide full of examples. Claude then turned this guide into a Word Document (interestingly without me asking it to).
This was good, but after editing I wanted to take the next step and turn it into an Artifact that I could share in this article and email newsletter to ya’ll.
I asked Claude:
Can you turn this into html so I can embed it into my Squarespace blog post?
It not only created the Artifact in HTML, but also gave me instructions on how to upload it successfully. This is the magic of Claude.
Because it had my context, and working knowledge inside of the Project, it was able to pull together an artifact that matched my needs and direct me how to best use it.
Check it out below:
Using Claude AI to Enhance Student Learning
A framework for deciding when AI helps — and when to protect the human work that matters most.
Generate lesson hooks tailored to what students actually care about.
"Create three lesson hooks for linear equations connected to sports, gaming, and social media."
- Saves planning time
- Increases relevance to student interests
- Does not replace student thinking — it supports yours
Use Claude to generate multiple project options aligned to your learning standards. Students gain autonomy over how they demonstrate learning — without adding extra planning work for you.
- More student ownership
- Differentiation without extra prep time
- Easy to adapt by swapping a single prompt
Have students interview Claude in a character role: a historical figure, a scientist, a career professional. Claude can stay in character and respond authentically within that persona.
- Sparks curiosity and deeper questioning
- Extends inquiry beyond the textbook
- Encourages students to think critically about the questions they ask
Ask students to write: "Why does this topic matter to you?" or "What surprised you today?"
This is about authentic voice — AI cannot provide it, and should not. These reflections reveal what students actually think and feel.
Socratic seminars, peer discussions, and turn-and-talk moments are irreplaceable. The engagement — and the learning — comes from human interaction.
- Socratic seminar
- Peer discussion
- Turn-and-talk
No AI involvement here protects the authenticity and social depth of the exchange.
Paste an existing assignment into Claude and ask it to raise the cognitive demand.
"Increase the rigor of this assignment using analysis and evaluation. Keep it aligned to [standard]."
Ask Claude to generate DOK Level 3–4 questions for any lesson topic. Use them for discussion, exit tickets, or formative assessment.
- Depth of Knowledge (DOK) 3: Strategic Thinking
- Depth of Knowledge (DOK) 4: Extended Thinking
Students use Claude to challenge their own thinking. After forming a claim, they ask:
"What are weaknesses in this argument: [student writes their claim here]?"
AI becomes a thinking partner — not the thinker. The student still owns the argument.
Before any AI use, require students to do the hard cognitive work first:
- Brainstorm ideas
- Outline an argument
- Solve the first problem independently
AI can be introduced later to check, extend, or challenge — never to replace the initial struggle.
Reserve these formats for demonstrating what students can do without AI assistance:
- In-class writing
- Oral explanation
- Whiteboard problem solving
- Video explanation
"Rewrite this passage at a 5th-grade level but keep key vocabulary."
Ask Claude to generate definitions, visual descriptions, example sentences, and analogies for key terms — especially helpful for ELL students and struggling readers.
Paste complex task instructions into Claude and ask it to break them into numbered, manageable steps. Reduces cognitive overload and improves task completion.
Generate sentence frames for written responses. Especially effective for ELL students and writers who struggle to begin.
- "This evidence suggests…"
- "One reason this matters is…"
- "Although some argue that…, I believe…"
Use AI support early, then deliberately remove it.
- Early unit → AI support available
- Late unit → AI support removed
- Assessment → No AI
At some point, students must complete a similar task:
- Without sentence frames
- Without AI help
- Without hints
This verifies that learning occurred — not just task completion.
Use this to make fast, consistent decisions about when AI supports your learning goals — and when it undermines them.
| Learning Goal | AI Use |
|---|---|
| Save planning time | ✓ Compatible |
| Increase student access | ✓ Compatible |
| Generate options & resources | ✓ Compatible |
| Student thinking & reasoning | ✗ Resistant |
| Student voice & expression | ✗ Resistant |
| Final learning evidence | ✗ Resistant |
Pick one area — engagement, rigor, or scaffolding — and try one Claude prompt this week.
Transparency builds trust. Let students see how you're using AI as a planning tool.
Tell students explicitly: "This part of class is AI-resistant — I want to see your thinking."
The first Claude output is a draft. Refine it, adjust it, and make it yours.
Ask Claude to generate options, then you choose. You retain the professional judgment.
Remember
AI is a tool for teachers and students — not a replacement for thinking. When used with intention, it creates more time for the human work that matters most.
You can see why I love Claude so much. Learning the basics will help you get started on the right path and use the AI tool with a purpose.
I’ve got a follow up to this that will take it to the next level, but I hope you got something out of this article!
