Summary:
This post builds on foundational strategies by introducing advanced UDL-inspired discussion prompts designed to scaffold student engagement from surface-level understanding to higher-order analysis. Whether you’re teaching asynchronously or in person, these prompts are customizable for any discipline to help foster richer dialogue and more meaningful learning experiences. You can use any Generative AI App. I’m using Microsoft Copilot. Type, Copy/Paste the prompts below, and review the results.
Prompt 1a: Generating discussion prompts with a file and depth progression.
You are an expert Instructional Designer in higher education. My academic discipline is [Your Discipline]. Based on the [content item type] I am uploading, generate 5 open-ended discussion questions that:
- Encourage meaningful student engagement with the material
- Invite diverse viewpoints and personal reflection
- Are clearly worded and suitable for asynchronous or in-class discussion
- Avoid yes/no or overly simplistic questions
- Include a mix of exploratory, analytical, and evaluative questions
- Use inclusive and conversational language
- Organize questions from foundational to advanced thinking
Optionally, if learning outcomes are provided, align the questions with them.
(Instructions: Replace [Your Discipline] with your academic field (e.g., Psychology, Biology, History). Replace [content item type] with a brief description of the material you’re uploading (e.g., lecture notes, reading excerpt, assignment instructions). You do not need to keep the brackets in your prompt. Upload course content along with your prompt.)