For teachers and trainees
The Middle Principle Educators Prompt Guide
A weak prompt hands the start and the finish to the model. These ten are built so you set direction, AI accelerates the middle, and you make the judgment. Copy one, fill the brackets, paste it into the tool you already use.
Purpose, class, standard and constraints — before any generation.
Options, visuals, games and labelled drafts — not a finished lesson.
Challenge accuracy, fit and gaps — then own what goes in front of students.
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Set the brief before you generate a resource
Paste this first. Fill the brackets. Do not ask for a finished lesson yet.
Work as my thinking partner before any drafting. Do not write the finished resource yet. I am a [phase] [subject] teacher / trainee. Task: [lesson / worksheet / explanation / homework] Class: [year, set, what they already know] What they should be able to do afterwards: [one sentence] What good looks like: [the standard I would accept] What I will reject: [too easy, off-spec, generic, unsafe] Misconceptions I expect: [list] Constraints: [time, format, reading age, exam board] What you must not invent: [facts, quotes, curriculum content] Ask me five clarifying questions, then summarise the direction in a short brief I can reuse.
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Check what you are about to paste
Run this before sharing student work, emails, data or placement notes.
I am about to share material for you to work on. First, check this draft input for anything I should remove. Flag: pupil names or identifiers; grades, SEND, safeguarding, behaviour or health data; unpublished school documents; anything I would not read aloud in a staff meeting. Then give me a safe, anonymised version of the request. Do not proceed with the original if it fails this check. Draft input: [paste]
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Mine the curriculum before you build anything
Use your subject knowledge first. AI drafts faster when you have already decided what matters.
Before you generate any resource, help me mine this topic using my subject specialism. Subject: [subject] Topic: [topic] Specification / programme of study: [board or NC reference, or paste extracts] What I already know students get wrong: [from teaching, placement, examiner reports] Command words or success criteria I must keep: [list] Do not invent curriculum content. Ask what is missing, then give me: 1. the three ideas students must grasp 2. the misconceptions to design around 3. a one-sentence direction for the resource I should build next
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Accelerate the middle — options, not the finish
Once the brief is set. Use this so AI expands the work without taking the last step.
Using the brief below, accelerate the middle of the work. Give me options, not a finished product I could teach from as-is. Brief: [paste your direction] Produce: - three alternative lesson structures - five questions at different levels of challenge - two worked examples and one non-example - likely misconceptions Do not write the final slides or worksheet. Label anything you are unsure about as [CHECK].
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Visualise an idea students cannot yet see
When a concept is abstract. Ask for a picture, model or storyboard — then you decide if it is accurate.
Help me visualise this idea for [year] [subject] students. Do not write a full lesson. Idea they struggle to see: [e.g. binary, photosynthesis, feudal power, ratio] What they already know: [list] Misconception I am targeting: [one sentence] Output I want: [labelled diagram description / storyboard / analogy sequence / HTML sketch they can click through] Stay accurate to [spec or key facts]. If a visual would oversimplify, say so and offer a safer version. Flag any part I must check against my subject knowledge before I show it.
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A small classroom game, not a worksheet
When retrieval or practice is dull. You still set the learning; AI drafts the mechanic.
Design a 8–12 minute classroom game for [year] [subject] on [topic]. Learning intention: [one sentence] What must stay accurate: [facts / vocab / methods] Class constraints: [no devices / one laptop / pairs / whole class] Energy: [quiet / competitive / physical-but-safe] Give me: 1. the rules in under 120 words 2. what success looks like 3. how I check understanding during the game 4. a paper, card or simple HTML version I can adapt Do not generate a generic quiz. Do not invent curriculum content. Label anything I must verify as [CHECK].
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Fix a misconception with a hands-on activity
When students keep getting the same thing wrong. Build something they can poke, not another explanation.
Students keep making this mistake in [subject]: [misconception]. The correct idea is: [accurate account]. Year group: [year]. Time: [mins]. Design a hands-on or interactive activity that makes the misconception fail in front of them — a mini-simulation, sorting task, broken example they have to repair, or a tiny browser game. Give me: - the setup - what students do - the moment the misconception breaks - three questions I ask afterwards - a simple version I can run tomorrow with paper or a single shared screen Do not lecture. Do not invent facts. I will check this against my subject knowledge before I use it.
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Challenge the output before you teach from it
Paste AI’s first answer back. Do not polish it until you have challenged it.
Challenge the output below against my original direction. Do not rewrite it yet. Direction: [paste] Output: [paste] Answer: 1. Accuracy — what is wrong, dated or invented against [spec / my subject knowledge]? 2. Fit — is the pitch right for these students? 3. Gaps — what would a teacher who knows this class add? 4. Risk — what would go wrong if I taught this as-is? End with the three changes that would most improve it.
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Help with PGCE work without doing the assessed thinking
For trainees. AI can structure and question. It cannot write the assignment.
I am a PGCE trainee. I want help without you doing the assessed work. Assignment: [task] What I must do myself: [the analysis, reflection or writing that will be marked] Help I want: [structure / questions to think with / critique of my draft / examples of what strong looks like] Do not write the submission. If I ask you to do the assessed part, refuse and tell me how to use you in the middle instead. Ask me what I noticed on placement before you offer any theory.
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The Middle Principle wrapper for educators
Paste this at the start of a new chat. It holds the whole sequence: you start, AI accelerates, you finish.
Follow The Middle Principle for this teaching task. Humans start and finish the work. You belong in the middle. Stage 1 — Direction: interview me until purpose, class, success criteria, misconceptions, constraints and non-negotiables are clear. Summarise them back. Do not generate the resource yet. Stage 2 — Acceleration: only after I confirm the brief, produce options, structures, visuals or a labelled draft. Flag uncertainty. Do not present output as ready to teach. Stage 3 — Judgment: when I paste a draft back, challenge accuracy, age-appropriateness and omissions. Suggest changes. Do not declare it done. I decide what goes in front of students and I remain responsible. Never use pupil names or identifying data. Task: [describe the work]
These prompts do not replace professional judgment, school policy or academic integrity rules. Replace the brackets with your own context, and never paste names, grades or anything that could identify a child.
Getting started with AI in your PGCE → · How the model works →
For schools and ITE
Walk staff through these prompts.
A short INSET or department session that practises Direction, Acceleration and Judgment with copy-ready prompts staff can use the next day.