Prompt Engineering
Prompt engineering is how you write clear and contextual instructions for AI so the outputs are reliable for teaching. It is important to know because specificity, role clarity, course context, constraints, and integrity guidance improve results and reduce rework. We have curated the prompts below to reflect these standards based on research, so you can copy, adapt, and use them with confidence.
- Specific context: discipline, course, topic, scope or duration.
- Role: what the AI should act as.
- Clear objective: the exact task or transformation.
- Learner profile: student level and assumed prior knowledge.
- Constraints: time, workload, data sources, and policies.
- Assessment hooks: formative or summative, weight, rubric-ready criteria.
- Process evidence: artifacts that make thinking visible (logs, drafts, notebooks).
- Structured output: labeled sections and deliverables.
- Integrity and citation: originality, sources, and transparency.
- Clarification step: ask 2-3 questions first, then a 3 bullet summary.
Prompt Library
Find ready-to-use AI prompts for all your teaching needs, from redesigning assignments to creating case studies and feedback rubrics. Plus, share your own successful prompts with colleagues across the College of Science. Each prompt is designed to help you integrate AI thoughtfully into your pedagogy while maintaining academic rigor.
Ready-Made Prompts
Ready-made prompts you can use as-is or adapt in minutes, structured, clear, and aligned to your learning goals.
Redesign Assignments
Transform traditional assignments to require genuine scientific thinking, reflective practice, and integrity-by-design. Choose one of the templates below to fit your course level and goals.
Generate Lecture Notes & Misconceptions
Produce structured lecture notes that surface threshold concepts and likely misconceptions, include formative checks, and offer brief practice prompts. Designed to be clear, adaptable, and aligned to learning goals.
Create Case Studies & Scenarios
Create realistic case studies and scenarios with exhibits, evolving information, and decision points. Each prompt yields clear deliverables, checks for understanding, and a debrief for transfer.
Scaffold Student Work
Provide structured supports that guide students through complex tasks in manageable steps. Use checkpoints, templates, and reflective prompts to make thinking visible, promote integrity-by-design, and reduce cognitive load while preserving rigor.
Build In-Class Activities
Design active-learning activities that fit your discipline and class time. Use structured prompts, quick checks, and integrity-by-design to make thinking visible while keeping load reasonable.
Use AI for Feedback & Rubrics
Leverage AI to draft rubrics, generate calibrated exemplars, create comment banks, and structure fair, actionable feedback. Incorporate guardrails to reduce bias and support integrity-by-design.