Choosing a learning mode: hints, guided steps or a full answer

[ LEARNING MODES ]

One question decides the mode

How much of the thinking should stay with the student on this assignment? Each Nexus class has a learning mode (Hints, Guided, or Full answer with critique) that students cannot change, so the teacher answers that question once per class and can change it as the unit moves on.

What the evidence says about each mode

Hints. In a field experiment with about 1,000 high-school students, a hint-first version of an AI tutor removed the harm of answer-giving AI, which had cut unaided exam scores by 17%. It did not beat no AI. Hints prevent harm; teaching still creates the gains.

Guided. Gains in the research come with structure. A physics tutor with a forced step order and expert-written solutions raised post-test scores in one course, and AI support inside a mastery workflow improved the next attempt after a mistake in a large middle-school study.

Full answer with critique. A full answer is closest to the answer-giving condition that hurt exam scores, so use it after the student has tried. Explanations from an AI model helped most for people who attempted the problem first, and worked examples in math (g = 0.48) work best as a correct example followed by a similar problem done alone.

Change the mode across a unit

A unit does not need one mode from start to finish. Many teachers use Hints while students practice a new skill, Guided for the hardest multi-step work in the middle, and Full answer with critique for review after the due date. Students cannot change the mode; the teacher can, whenever the work changes.

Add an attempt-first instruction

Trying before being taught suits teenagers: problem solving before instruction gave g = 0.36 across studies, though the effect reversed for grades 2-5. Add a class instruction such as "Ask for the student's attempt before giving a hint." Keep the gate quick. In one study, making people think before accepting AI advice cut overreliance, but people liked the most effective designs least.

Watch for hint-gaming

Some students ask for hint after hint until the answer appears. In class chats, look for rapid repeated requests on one problem. Feedback on how students seek help made them use hints more deliberately in one study, but did not raise learning on its own, so pair it with short unaided checks.

Test the mode before students do

Rules given to chatbots leak: chatbots set up by 27 middle-school teachers followed the teachers' intended rules 70.4% of the time (preprint). Try a normal question, a request for the final answer and a request your instructions forbid, from a student account, before the unit starts. Before any pilot, we check Hints and Guided with real models.