Four weeks of practical AI learning
Learning outcomes
Participants can choose a suitable first task, write a clear prompt, spot unsupported claims, protect information boundaries, and explain who owns final review. Completion records participation and demonstrated skills. This curriculum is not professional certification.
Before the first session
Name the trainer and review owner. Confirm approved tools/accounts, permitted data, reporting contacts, and organization-specific policy. If no tool is approved, use paper exercises and supplied fictional outputs. Ask participants about needed formats and access support.
Materials
This curriculum, the Starter Kit, approved policy, a public or fictional source, a timer, and a place to record examples. Provide a readable digital version and any requested alternatives. Avoid real client, donor, HR, or financial records.
Facilitator approach
Explain one idea, demonstrate it, let participants practice, then give specific feedback. Offer a way to ask questions privately. Record process difficulties without treating them as personal failings.
Week 1: AI basics and boundaries
45-minute agenda
- 0-5: Ask where staff encounter AI in work.
- 5-15: Explain drafting, uncertainty, and human responsibility.
- 15-25: Sort sample inputs into suitable practice, needs review, and keep out.
- 25-35: Discuss the fictional scenario below.
- 35-42: Each participant chooses a small practice task.
- 42-45: Exit check and next step.
Scenario
A colleague wants to paste a real service-recipient note into a personal AI account to make it shorter. Tool approval and allowed data types are unknown. Ask what should happen next and why.
Facilitator answer
Hold the upload and route the exact use to the designated owner. Use fictional text to explore a format. Removing the name alone does not resolve identification or permission questions.
Exit check
Name one suitable practice input, one input that needs separate approval, and the organization's reporting contact.
Practice task chosen: ___________________________________________
Week 2: prompts and source fidelity
45-minute agenda
- 0-5: Review last week's boundary questions.
- 5-12: Demonstrate purpose, audience, source, limits, and format.
- 12-27: Participants draft using the fictional event facts below.
- 27-37: Compare output with the source and revise.
- 37-42: Share one useful improvement.
- 42-45: Exit check.
Fictional source
Riverbend Community Garden orientation. November 7, 2026, 10-11 a.m. At the fictional Riverbend Center, 100 Example Lane. Free. Register through the fictional example.org/garden page. Bring a water bottle. No accessibility features or contact details are supplied. These details are training fiction, not an actual event.
Practice prompt
Write a 100-word public announcement using only [FICTIONAL FACTS]. Keep dates, cost, place, and signup accurate. Do not invent access features, urgency, or a contact. Mark missing information for staff confirmation. Add one clear call to action.
Exit check
Participants identify the audience, source, output limit, and one missing fact. The trainer checks whether the draft preserves the supplied details.
Week 3: verify the draft
45-minute agenda
- 0-5: Review the source from Week 2.
- 5-15: Demonstrate source-to-draft checking.
- 15-27: Participants inspect the flawed output below.
- 27-37: Rewrite with supported facts only.
- 37-42: Discuss clarity, dignity, and access.
- 42-45: Exit check.
Intentionally flawed training output
"Join our wheelchair-accessible garden event on November 8 from 9 to 11 a.m. at Riverbend Center. Your $10 fee supports 500 local families. Snacks and transportation are included. Register today before seats sell out."
Facilitator answer key
Wrong date: November 7 is supplied. Wrong start time: 10 a.m. is supplied. Wrong price: the source says free. Unsupported: accessibility, 500 families, snacks, transportation, scarce seats, and urgency. Missing: full supplied location, accurate signup route, and water-bottle instruction. The source does not support an impact claim.
Exit check
Explain how to verify a date, a number, and an impact claim. Identify who may approve the final version and how to handle an unresolved fact.
Week 4: one controlled pilot
45-minute agenda
- 0-5: Review common errors from practice.
- 5-15: Name one task, approved input, and reviewer.
- 15-25: Draft the pilot record below.
- 25-35: Estimate baseline effort and define quality.
- 35-42: Explain failure and reporting paths.
- 42-45: Each participant states a next step.
Pilot record
Task and intended benefit: ______________________________________
Approved tool/account: __________________________________________
Public/fictional source: __________________________________________
Human reviewer: ________________________________________________
Success standard: ______________________________________________
Baseline and measurement method: _______________________________
Failure contact and manual fallback: ______________________________
Review date: __________________________________________________
Evaluation
Record preparation, drafting, review, and corrections. Compare with a similar task. Keep, change, or stop using the evidence. A training exercise does not authorize a new integration, data category, or external action.
Between sessions and after training
Offer a short office hour or feedback route. Ask staff what remains confusing. Update approved team examples when tools or policies change.
Practical skills review
Demonstration tasks
- 1. Choose a suitable task and approved practice input.
- 2. Write a prompt specifying audience, source, boundaries, and format.
- 3. Identify at least two unsupported claims in a supplied flawed draft.
- 4. Produce a corrected draft and explain who reviews it.
- 5. Describe how to report an accidental disclosure or unexpected action.
Observation record
Participant: ___________________ Date: __________________________
Task/input choice: [ ] Demonstrated [ ] More practice
Prompt clarity: [ ] Demonstrated [ ] More practice
Source checking: [ ] Demonstrated [ ] More practice
Review responsibility: [ ] Demonstrated [ ] More practice
Reporting route: [ ] Demonstrated [ ] More practice
Feedback and follow-up
Strength observed: ______________________________________________
One specific practice need: _______________________________________
Support or format adjustment: ___________________________________
Practice owner/date: ____________________________________________
Completion record wording
[NAME] participated in four HLTF-based introductory sessions and completed a practice review on [DATE]. Document any remaining support needs separately. Do not describe this as certification or permission for all AI uses.