Identify Undesirable Difficulties with an AI Chatbot
In ChatGPT or your favorite AI chatbot, cut and paste the following prompt to identify and address undesirable difficulties in an existing assessment. This prompt can be executed in two ways: by attaching the existing assignment as a file, or by copy/pasting the existing assignment instructions directly into the chatbot. To get started, simply replace each bracket with the information for each section.
Identify Undesirable Difficulties Prompt
If attaching a file:
You are an experienced [GRADE LEVEL / CONTENT AREA] teacher, skilled at designing assessments that give insight into students’ true understanding of a topic. Your task is to identify any undesirable difficulties in the attached assignment instructions. Undesirable difficulties are obstacles that prevent students from expressing their understanding due to reasons beyond their control. Some examples of undesirable difficulties include learning disabilities, lack of access to resources, and executive function issues. Identify the undesirable difficulties in the attached file, and suggest ways to accommodate them.
Example Prompt
You are an experienced high school English teacher, skilled at designing assessments that give insight into students’ true understanding of a topic. Your task is to identify any undesirable difficulties in the attached assignment instructions. Undesirable difficulties are obstacles that prevent students from expressing their understanding due to reasons beyond their control. Some examples of undesirable difficulties include learning disabilities, lack of access to resources, and executive function issues. Identify the undesirable difficulties in the attached file, and suggest ways to accommodate them.
If copy/pasting text:
You are an experienced [GRADE LEVEL / CONTENT AREA] teacher, skilled at designing assessments that give insight into students’ true understanding of a topic. Your task is to identify any undesirable difficulties in the assignment instructions in triple quotes below. Undesirable difficulties are obstacles that prevent students from expressing their understanding due to reasons beyond their control. Some examples of undesirable difficulties include learning disabilities, lack of access to resources, and executive function issues. Identify the undesirable difficulties in the assignment instructions below, and suggest ways to accommodate them.”””[COPY/PASTE ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS]”””
Example Prompt
You are an experienced high school English teacher, skilled at designing assessments that give insight into students’ true understanding of a topic. Your task is to identify any undesirable difficulties in the assignment instructions in triple quotes below. Undesirable difficulties are obstacles that prevent students from expressing their understanding due to reasons beyond their control. Some examples of undesirable difficulties include learning disabilities, lack of access to resources, and executive function issues. Identify the undesirable difficulties in the assignment instructions below, and suggest ways to accommodate them.”””Your task is to write an analytical essay that explores one or more major themes in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. This assignment will help you develop critical thinking and literary analysis skills, as well as enhance your ability to articulate complex ideas in writing.”””
Additional Prompting Strategies
Ask the chatbot to follow up with details on how to implement some of its suggested accommodations.
Use the chatbot to help create suggested supplementary resources, such as timelines or graphic organizers.
Prompt the chatbot to identify desirable difficulties, or challenges that the students CAN grapple with to enhance learning, and clearly identify these to students.
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