When does class start/end?
Class hours may vary, please reach out to contact@ascendientlearning.com if you have any questions.
Foundations of Prompt Engineering
Apply advanced prompt-engineering techniques for reliable generative-AI output across business and engineering tasks. GenAI fundamentals cover tokenization, embeddings, decoding, and the model...
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$1,665USD
Duration
2 days
Course Code
GAI-2001
Available Formats
Classroom
Overview
Course Description
Apply advanced prompt-engineering techniques for reliable generative-AI output across business and engineering tasks. GenAI fundamentals cover tokenization, embeddings, decoding, and the model settings that shape output quality. Prompting techniques cover zero-shot, few-shot, and dynamic example selection, alongside the practical limits of N-shot. Chain-of-thought, step-based, meta, and reflective prompting cover CoT variants from zero-shot through step-back, prompt chaining, task decomposition, Reflexion-style self-correction loops, and emerging techniques including Logic-of-Thought and Narrative-of-Thought. Prompting agentic AI and advanced techniques apply the patterns to tool use, memory integration, goal-oriented prompts, ensembling, code prompting, self-consistency, self-criticism, and plan-and-solve. Hands-on labs produce a personal library of prompt patterns, an agentic prompt set with tool-use scaffolding, and a self-correcting chain-of-thought workflow. The course is designed for anyone using generative AI day-to-day, including business users, analysts, data scientists, and developers with introductory GenAI exposure.
Skills Gained
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Apply advanced prompt engineering techniques to maximize GenAI results
- Apply chain-of-thought and step-based prompting to complex problems
- Apply meta-prompting to direct specific outputs and improve AI performance
- Improve agentic AI capabilities through specific prompting strategies
- Apply ensembling, self-consistency, and self-criticism to push past basic prompting
Who Can Benefit
This course is designed for:
- Anyone interested in learning prompt engineering, including business users, managers, data analysts, data scientists, developers, and more
Prerequisites
Participants should enter this course with:
- Familiarity using Generative AI
- Basic foundational knowledge
Organizational Objectives
This course assists organizations to:
- Reduce time on first-draft work by codifying high-quality prompt patterns across teams
- Lower model-run cost by reaching for prompt engineering before fine-tuning
- Build a working knowledge of agentic prompt patterns across the organization
- Establish a shared prompt-quality vocabulary across functions
Software
All attendees must have a modern web browser and an Internet connection.
Course Details
Course Details
Module 1 - Understanding Generative AI
By the end of this module, you will be able to differentiate generative AI from traditional AI, describe how foundation models produce text and other modalities, and recognize the model settings and parameters that influence output quality.
- Defining intelligence, artificial intelligence, and generative AI
- Differentiating generative AI from traditional AI
- How generative AI works (tokenization, embeddings, decoding)
- Benefits and challenges of generative AI
- Popular GenAI models and frameworks
- LLM settings and parameters; intro to prompt engineering, RAG, and agentic AI
- Hands-on Lab: Explore tokenization, embeddings, and core LLM settings hands-on without writing any code.
Module 2 - Prompting with Examples
By the end of this module, you will be able to apply zero-shot and few-shot prompting, recognize the limitations of N-shot examples, and use dynamic example selection to keep prompts efficient as datasets grow.
- Introduction to prompting with examples
- Zero-shot prompting
- Few-shot prompting
- Limitations of few-shot prompting
- Best practices for prompting with examples
- Dynamic examples
- Hands-on Lab: Implement N-shot prompting with dynamic example selection on one realistic task and measure the quality lift.
Module 3 - Chain-of-Thought and Step-Based Prompting
By the end of this module, you will be able to apply chain-of-thought, contrastive CoT, auto-CoT, and step-back prompting to multi-step reasoning tasks, and recognize emergent prompting techniques like Logic-of-Thought and Narrative-of-Thought
- Introduction to chain-of-thought prompting
- Zero-shot chain-of-thought
- Contrastive chain-of-thought
- Auto-chain-of-thought
- Step-back prompting
- Logic-of-thought, Narrative-of-thought, and emergent techniques
- Hands-on Lab: Compare CoT, zero-shot CoT, and contrastive CoT on the same reasoning task using aligned examples.
Module 4 - Meta-prompting and Reflective Prompting
By the end of this module, you will be able to apply meta-prompting to direct model behaviour at a higher level, distinguish it from chain-of-thought, decompose tasks via prompt chaining, and apply Reflexion-style reflective prompting.
- Characteristics of meta-prompting
- Meta-prompting vs. chain-of-thought
- Benefits and challenges of meta-prompting
- Prompt chaining and task decomposition
- Reflexion
- Hands-on Lab: Implement meta-prompting and Reflexion on a multi-step task and compare quality against single-prompt baselines.
Module 5 - Prompting Agentic AI
By the end of this module, you will be able to apply prompt engineering to control agent tool use, integrate memory and context, structure goal-oriented prompts, and combine prompting techniques into a coherent agent strategy.
- Core concepts of agentic AI
- Prompting to control tool use
- Integrating memory and context
- Prompting for goal-oriented tasks
- Integrating prompting techniques for agents
- Hands-on Lab: Use LangGraph to control tool use and integrate memory and context into a goal-oriented agent.
Module 6 - Advanced Prompting Techniques
By the end of this module, you will be able to apply ensembling, code prompting, self-consistency, self-criticism, and plan-and-solve techniques to push prompt-based performance past basic methods.
- Ensembling methods
- Code prompting
- Self-consistency
- Self-criticism
- Plan and solve
- Other emerging techniques
- Hands-on Lab: Apply ensembling and self-criticism prompting to one task and measure the performance lift over a single-prompt baseline.
Schedule
FAQ
Does the course schedule include a Lunchbreak?
Classes typically include a 1-hour lunch break around midday. However, the exact break times and duration can vary depending on the specific class. Your instructor will provide detailed information at the start of the course.
What languages are used to deliver training?
Most courses are conducted in English, unless otherwise specified. Some courses will have the word "FRENCH" marked in red beside the scheduled date(s) indicating the language of instruction.
What does GTR stand for?
GTR stands for Guaranteed to Run; if you see a course with this status, it means this event is confirmed to run. View our GTR page to see our full list of Guaranteed to Run courses.
How do I find an Ascendient Learning training location?
We have training locations across the United States and Canada - View a complete list of classroom training locations.
Which delivery formats are available?
At Ascendient Learning, we offer training that is Instructor-Led, Online, Virtual, and Self-Paced.
Does Ascendient Learning deliver group training?
Yes, we provide training for groups, individuals and private on sites. View our group training page for more information.
What does vendor-authorized training mean?
As a vendor-authorized training partner, we offer a curriculum that our partners have vetted. We use the same course materials and facilitate the same labs as our vendor-delivered training. These courses are considered the gold standard and, as such, are priced accordingly.
Is the training too basic, or will you go deep into technology?
It depends on your requirements, your role in your company, and your depth of knowledge. The good news about many of our learning paths, you can start from the fundamentals to highly specialized training.
How up-to-date are your courses and support materials?
We continuously work with our vendors to evaluate and refresh course material to reflect the latest training courses and best practices.
Are your instructors seasoned trainers who have deep knowledge of the training topic?
Ascendient Learning instructors have an average of 27 years of practical IT experience and have also served as consultants for an average of 15 years. To stay current, instructors spend at least 25 percent of their time learning new, emerging technologies and courses.
Do you provide hands-on training and exercises in an actual lab environment?
Lab access is dependent on the vendor and the type of training you sign up for. However, many of our top vendors will provide lab access to students to test and practice. The course description will specify lab access.
Will you customize the training for our company’s specific needs and goals?
We will work with you to identify training needs and areas of growth. We offer a variety of training methods, such as private group training, on-site of your choice, and virtually. We provide courses and certifications that are aligned with your business goals.
How do I get started with certification?
Getting started on a certification pathway depends on your goals and the vendor you choose to get certified in. Many vendors offer entry-level IT certification to advanced IT certification that can boost your career. To get access to certification vouchers and discounts, please contact info@ascendientlearning.com.
Will I get access to content after I complete a course?
You will get access to the PDF of course books and guides, but access to the recording and slides will depend on the vendor and type of training you receive.
How do I request a W9 for Ascendient Learning?
View our filing status and how to request a W9.
Reviews
The class covered the concepts needed for the AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification.
Both course material and instructor demonstrated a sound foundation on Maximo material
Exit certified was great as it is very in depth and hands on learning which made it very easy to learn this type of work.
ExitCertified provided a very organized way to learn and provided materials to follow along.
Very good company. I've done technical trainings at their facility in downtown Montreal in the past and I'Ve always appreciated them.
