Resources / Prompt Library / CTE Educators

For Career & Technical Educators

The CTE Prompt Starter Kit

10 classroom-tested prompts across health science, skilled trades, IT, business, and design. Every one follows a single rule: the human does the thinking first, then AI enters as a tool, not a replacement.

10ready-to-use prompts

5program areas

3steps per prompt

The "Create First, AI Second" Framework

Every prompt in this kit runs on three steps. The last one is where the grade lives.

Step 1

Create First

Students do the generative thinking independently. No AI until their own work exists.

Step 2

AI Second

AI enters as a reviewer, challenger, or drafting partner, never the author.

Step 3

Judge & Refine

Students judge, fix, and defend the output. This is the assessment.

The One Rule That Never Changes

Never enter student names, ID numbers, grades, or patient identifiers into any AI tool. When a prompt asks you to paste student work or a clinical scenario, strip the identifying details first. Describe the patient by condition and the student by grade level, not by name. The AI gives you the same quality help, and no protected data leaves your hands.

Health Science

2 prompts

CNA, EMT, clinical rotations, exercise science, medical lab, pharmacy

Health Science For the Teacher

Oral Walk-Through Prep

A student submits work that reads too polished and you want to verify their reasoning before you grade it.

Create First

The student has already written and submitted their care plan or clinical summary using their own knowledge.

The Prompt

I teach [CNA / EMT / clinical rotations / your program]. A student submitted the following care plan for a patient scenario: [Paste the student's submitted work here] Based on this submission, generate 5 follow-up questions I can ask the student in a 3-minute oral walk-through to test whether they actually understand the clinical reasoning behind their decisions. Focus on: - Why they chose this intervention over alternatives - What they would do if the patient's condition changed - Where their reasoning has gaps a working professional would catch Number the questions 1 to 5 and keep each to one or two sentences. Make them conversational, not quiz-style. I want it to feel like a clinical debrief, not a test.

Copies only the prompt, not the notes

Before you paste the student's work, remove the patient's name, room number, and any identifying details. Describe the patient by condition, not identity.

Judge the Output

Read the questions before you use them. Cross out any that don't match what you actually covered in lab. Add one question only you would know to ask based on what happened during the hands-on session. That question is the one that proves whether the student was in the room.

Health Science Give to Student

Student Self-Check Before Submission

You want students to use AI as a quality check AFTER they finish their own work, not before.

Create First

The student completes their own patient assessment, dosage calculation, or procedure documentation by hand first.

The Prompt

I am a [CNA / EMT / health science] student. I just completed this [patient assessment / dosage calculation / procedure write-up] on my own: [Paste your completed work here] Review my work as if you were my clinical instructor. Identify: - Any medical terminology I used incorrectly - Any steps in the procedure I listed out of order - Any safety concerns a supervising nurse or paramedic would flag Do NOT rewrite my work. Only tell me what to look at again. I need to fix it myself.

Copies only the prompt, not the notes

Strip any real patient details before pasting. Use the condition and the scenario, never a real name or record.

Judge the Output

The student reviews the AI's feedback and decides what to fix. Grade the revision decisions, not the AI's suggestions. Ask: "The AI flagged three things. You fixed two and kept one as-is. Why did you keep that one?" That conversation is the assessment.

Skilled Trades & Construction

2 prompts

Automotive, construction, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, cosmetology, culinary

Skilled Trades & Construction For the Teacher

Diagnosis Defense Generator

A student finished a diagnostic and you want to test whether they understand the reasoning, not just the result.

Create First

The student has already performed the hands-on diagnosis: run the scan, taken the measurements, inspected the system.

The Prompt

I teach [automotive / HVAC / electrical / plumbing]. A student just completed a diagnostic on [describe the system or scenario, for example: a 2018 pickup with an intermittent misfire on cylinder 3, or a residential HVAC unit cycling on and off every 2 minutes]. Their diagnosis is: [paste or describe what the student concluded]. Generate 5 "what if" follow-up questions I can ask them at the bench to pressure-test their reasoning: - What if the reading was different? - What if the obvious cause isn't the actual cause? - What would a senior tech check that a beginner might skip? Write the questions like a shop foreman talking to an apprentice, not like a textbook.

Copies only the prompt, not the notes

Judge the Output

Throw out any question that doesn't match the actual equipment or conditions in your lab. The AI doesn't know your shop. Add one curveball from your own experience, the weird thing you have seen in the field that no textbook covers. That is the question that teaches judgment.

Skilled Trades & Construction Give to Student

Student Repair Narrative

You want students to practice explaining their troubleshooting in professional language for a real job site.

Create First

The student has already completed the repair, inspection, or service. This prompt comes after the hands-on work is done.

The Prompt

I am a [trade] student. I just completed a [repair / inspection / service] on [describe what you worked on]. Here is what I did, step by step, in my own words: [Write your process in plain language: what you checked, what you found, what you did, and why] Rewrite my explanation as a professional service report that a shop manager or customer would read. Keep my reasoning and my steps. Fix my grammar and make it sound professional. Do NOT add steps I didn't take or conclusions I didn't reach. Then flag anything in my process that a senior technician might question or do differently.

Copies only the prompt, not the notes

Judge the Output

Compare the AI's professional version against what the student actually wrote. The student should be able to look at both and say "that's still my process, just cleaner." If the AI added reasoning the student didn't provide, that's the conversation: "This line says you checked for X. Did you actually check for X, or did the machine add that?" Grade the honesty, not the polish.

Engineering, IT & Cybersecurity

2 prompts

Engineering, networking, cybersecurity, programming, software development

Engineering, IT & Cybersecurity Give to Student

Code Review Partner

A student wrote their own code and you want them to use AI as a reviewer, not a writer.

Create First

The student writes their own code first. No AI assistance during the initial build.

The Prompt

I am a [programming / software development] student. I wrote the following code for [describe the assignment, for example: a Python script that calculates shipping costs based on weight and destination]: [Paste your code here] Review my code. Do NOT rewrite it. Instead: 1. Identify any bugs or logic errors 2. Flag any security vulnerabilities 3. Point out where my approach works but a more experienced developer would do it differently, and explain why 4. Rate my code readability from 1 to 10 and tell me what would bring it up one point I want to learn from the feedback and fix it myself.

Copies only the prompt, not the notes

Judge the Output

Have the student fix the issues the AI identified, then explain each fix to you or to a partner. The fix is easy. The explanation of WHY it was wrong is the skill. If a student can't explain the fix in their own words, they didn't learn from it.

Engineering, IT & Cybersecurity For the Teacher

Threat Scenario Builder

You want a realistic cybersecurity or network scenario to analyze without writing one from scratch.

Create First

You decide the specific skill you are testing (packet analysis, firewall rules, incident response) and the difficulty level.

The Prompt

I teach [cybersecurity / networking]. Generate a realistic workplace scenario where a [type of threat, for example: phishing attack, misconfigured firewall, insider data leak] has been detected in a small company's network. Include: - A brief description of the company (industry, size, what they run) - The symptoms or alerts that were noticed - 3 red herrings that could mislead a beginner analyst - The actual root cause Write it at a [beginner / intermediate] level. Make it messy and realistic, not textbook-clean. Real incidents don't come with labels. Keep the whole scenario under 400 words. Label each part clearly, and put the root cause in a separate section at the very end so I can hide it during the exercise.

Copies only the prompt, not the notes

Judge the Output

Read the scenario before you use it. Check whether the red herrings are plausible and whether the root cause makes technical sense for the described environment. The AI will sometimes generate scenarios that sound good but have a technical flaw a real analyst would catch. Catching that flaw yourself is the quality check. If you find one, leave it in and see if your students catch it too.

Business, Marketing & Finance

2 prompts

Accounting, business management, marketing

Business, Marketing & Finance For the Teacher

Case Study Generator

You need a realistic business scenario customized to a specific concept you are teaching.

Create First

You decide the concept (break-even, segmentation, cash flow, marketing mix) and the type of business the case features.

The Prompt

I teach [accounting / business management / marketing]. Create a realistic one-page case study about a small [type of business, for example: a local bakery expanding to a second location, or an online clothing reseller hitting a cash flow crunch]. The case should require students to apply [specific concept, for example: break-even analysis, SWOT, customer segmentation]. Include: - Enough financial or market data for students to work with, presented in a small table (make the numbers realistic, not round) - One detail that seems minor but actually changes the analysis if students catch it - A decision the business owner needs to make, with no obvious right answer Keep it to one page. Do NOT include the solution or anything resembling one. My students need to build that themselves.

Copies only the prompt, not the notes

Judge the Output

Check the numbers. AI frequently generates financial data that doesn't add up internally. Run the math yourself before you hand it to students. If you find an error, you have two choices: fix it, or leave it in and make finding the error part of the assignment. Both are good teaching.

Business, Marketing & Finance Give to Student

Student Campaign Pitch Sharpener

Marketing students developed their own campaign and you want them to stress-test it before presenting.

Create First

The student develops their campaign concept, target audience, key message, and channel strategy on their own first.

The Prompt

I am a marketing student. I developed a campaign concept for [describe the product or service and the assignment]. Here is my campaign: - Target audience: [who] - Key message: [what] - Channels: [where] - Call to action: [what I want the audience to do] Act as a skeptical client hearing this pitch for the first time. Ask me the 5 toughest questions a real client would ask about this campaign. Focus on: - Why this audience and not another one - What evidence supports my channel choices - What's missing from my strategy that a competitor would exploit Do NOT fix my campaign. Just challenge it.

Copies only the prompt, not the notes

Judge the Output

The student presents their campaign, the AI's five challenges, and their response to each challenge. Grade the defense, not the original pitch. A student who can answer "why not TikTok instead of Instagram for this audience" with real reasoning has shown more skill than a student with a polished deck and no ability to defend it.

Design, Media & Public Service

2 prompts

Design, digital media, floral, law enforcement, legal studies, teaching, veterinary

Design, Media & Public Service Give to Student

Design Critique Generator

Design or media students finished their own work and need practice receiving professional-level feedback.

Create First

The student completes their design, layout, composition, or project first. No AI input during the creative process.

The Prompt

I am a [architectural design / interior design / digital media / floral design] student. I just completed [describe the project, for example: a floor plan for a 1,200 square foot apartment, or a social media campaign layout for a local restaurant]. Here is my description of the work: [Describe your design choices: what you created, why you made the choices you made, what constraints you were working within] Critique my work as if you were a senior professional reviewing a junior designer's portfolio piece. Be specific. Tell me: - What works and why (not just "looks good") - What a client would push back on - One thing I probably didn't consider that experience would teach me Be direct. I'm practicing how to receive professional feedback.

Copies only the prompt, not the notes

Judge the Output

Have the student write a one-paragraph response to the critique: what they agree with, what they disagree with, and what they would change with another hour. The response reveals whether they can think critically about their own work, the skill that separates a student portfolio from a professional one.

Design, Media & Public Service For the Teacher

Scenario Simulation for Decision-Making

You want students to practice judgment calls in realistic, pressure-filled situations.

Create First

You decide the skill you are testing (de-escalation, triage, classroom management, legal reasoning) and the ethical complexity.

The Prompt

I teach [law enforcement / legal studies / veterinary science / teaching and training]. Create a realistic scenario where a [student's future role, for example: first-year patrol officer, veterinary technician, or student teacher] faces a situation that requires a judgment call with no clear right answer. The scenario should: - Involve at least two competing priorities (for example: safety vs. compassion, protocol vs. common sense, speed vs. thoroughness) - Include enough detail for a 10-minute small-group discussion - Have at least two defensible courses of action, each with real trade-offs - End before the decision is made, so my students have to make the call Do NOT include the "correct" answer. There isn't one. That's the point.

Copies only the prompt, not the notes

Judge the Output

Read the scenario for realism. AI sometimes writes situations that sound dramatic but wouldn't happen that way in the field. Run it past your own experience or an advisory board member's. Adjust the details until it feels like something that could actually walk through the door. Then let your students argue about it. The argument is the assessment.

This kit is the sample. The workshop is the transformation.

Eclatech runs hands-on AI training for CTE departments and career academies: program-specific prompts, responsible-use policy, and the Create First, AI Second framework built for real labs and real students.

Bring This Training to Your Program