GenAI Timesavers for Teachers

Practical prompts and tips to streamline your teaching workflow

Friendly Reminder

When using these tips, keep in mind that GenAI tools can sometimes hallucinate or produce output that isn't exactly what you want. A few things to remember:

  • • Think of GenAI as a drafting tool
  • • Always double-check the facts
  • • Adjust to your own context and style
  • • Keep humans in the lead

Course Design & Planning

Staring at a blank calendar when planning a new series of lessons? GenAI is excellent at brainstorming structures and active learning ideas.

Example: Drafting a Lesson Plan

Steps:

  1. 1. Define the goal: What is the one thing students should walk away knowing?
  2. 2. Ask for a structure: Request a breakdown of topics and activities
  3. 3. Add Active Learning: Ask the AI for a specific group activity

"I need to plan a [Length of time] lesson on [Topic] at [Bachelors/Masters] level. Can you suggest a lesson outline that includes a 15-minute intro, a 30-minute interactive group activity, and a 10-minute wrap-up? Please suggest one creative way to check if the students understood the main concept at the end."

Other Examples:

  • • Generate learning objectives from existing materials
  • • Create and redesign slide decks based on a standard format
  • • Suggest real-world examples for content
  • • Personalize learning tracks for students
  • • Create a flipped classroom plan

Grading & Feedback Support

Disclaimer: Using AI for grading is currently heavily restricted at the UvA. Always check current policy. The key concept is that humans are in the lead.

Example: Making Practice Questions

Steps:

  1. 1. Gather your materials: learning goals, Bloom level, topic summary
  2. 2. Set the stage: Tell the AI who the students are
  3. 3. Generate: Use the prompt below to get a first draft
  4. 4. Refine: Pick the best ones and tweak to match your style

"I'm teaching a session on [Topic]. Can you help me draft 5 multiple-choice questions and 3 short-answer questions for my students to practice with? For the multiple-choice, please provide 4 options and explain why the correct one is right. Make the difficulty level [Bachelor/Master][Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced]."

Other Examples:

  • • Create or fill rubrics for assignments
  • • Draft model answers for exam questions
  • • Generate formative feedback on draft texts
  • • Create peer review guides with structured criteria
  • • Summarize patterns in student submissions

Writing

We all get those common questions about deadlines, office hours, or where to find resources. Instead of typing the same reply ten times, let AI help you draft friendly, clear texts.

Example: Student Email Templates

"I keep getting emails from students asking for extensions. Can you draft a friendly and supportive email template that explains our policy: [Insert your policy here]. Make sure to include placeholders like [Student Name] so I can customize it easily."

Other Examples:

  • • Rewrite complex academic text into plain language
  • • Draft assignment instructions that are clear and unambiguous
  • • Generate a FAQ document based on common questions
  • • Write course announcements for the LMS
  • • Summarize long articles into teaching summaries

Administrative Efficiency

Many tasks we're used to doing manually can now be sped up by using AI.

Examples:

  • • Extract email addresses from lists or spreadsheets
  • • Summarize questionnaire responses into key themes
  • • Process attendance or grade data
  • • Convert meeting notes into action lists
  • • Look up policy or regulation information
  • • Translate or simplify documents for international students
  • • Create templates for recurring communications