AI can support teaching and instructional design by helping faculty develop learning materials, generate ideas, improve communication, and enhance student engagement. These examples highlight practical ways AI can assist throughout the teaching and course development process while keeping instructional expertise and human judgment at the center.

Each use case includes a starter prompt to help faculty begin exploring AI-supported teaching workflows and instructional ideas.

Use these starter prompts with university-approved AI tools while signed in with your CougarNet credentials to help ensure institutional security and data protection standards are maintained.

Lesson Planning Support

Generate lesson structures, learning activities, and instructional sequencing.

Starter Prompt:
Create a lesson plan about [topic] for a 75-minute undergraduate class session that includes lecture content, discussion activities, and formative assessment opportunities.

Assignment Brainstorming

Develop creative assignment ideas aligned with course outcomes.

Starter Prompt:
Generate five assignment ideas for a university-level course about [topic] that encourage critical thinking, collaboration, and real-world application.

Rubric Development

Create grading rubrics aligned to learning objectives and assessment criteria.

Starter Prompt:
Create a rubric for a student presentation assignment with categories for content accuracy, organization, engagement, visual design, and delivery.

Discussion Question Generation

Generate discussion prompts that encourage deeper analysis and engagement.

Starter Prompt:
Create discussion questions for undergraduate students that encourage analysis, debate, and reflection on the following reading.

Syllabus Refinement

Improve course descriptions, expectations, and course policies.

Starter Prompt:
Review this syllabus language and rewrite it to improve clarity, readability, and student understanding while maintaining a professional tone.

Classroom Activity Design

Develop active-learning exercises, group activities, and engagement strategies.

Starter Prompt:
Generate three active-learning activities for a large lecture course that can be completed in under 15 minutes for [course name and description]

Student Feedback Assistance

Draft constructive and supportive student feedback.

Starter Prompt:
Draft constructive feedback for a student whose work demonstrates strong effort but needs improvement in organization and evidence-based analysis.

Accessibility & Readability Improvements

Improve instructional content for accessibility and student comprehension.

Starter Prompt:
Rewrite this course content using clearer language and improved readability for first-year university students.

Quiz & Assessment Generation

Generate formative assessment questions aligned with course objectives.

Starter Prompt:
Create 10 quiz questions aligned with these course learning objectives. Include a mix of multiple-choice and short-answer questions.

Scenario-Based Learning

Create case studies and applied learning scenarios.

Starter Prompt:
Generate a real-world case study scenario that undergraduate students can analyze and discuss during class.