Writing AI instructions for an assignment

[ INSTRUCTIONS ]

What instructions are for

A class's learning mode sets how much help a student gets. Instructions tell the AI what this assignment needs: the goal, what the student must do alone, and how help should sound. Good instructions are short, specific and visible to students.

Write three things

• The goal: what students should be able to do afterward. "Solve two-step equations and check by substitution."
• What the student does alone: "The student writes every step. Do not simplify for them."
• How help should sound: "Use our textbook's notation," or "Reply in Spanish at a beginner level."

Instructions that work

• "Ask for the student's next step before giving another hint."
• "If a student asks for the answer, ask them to show their last step first."
• "Comment on the student's draft; never write sentences for them."
• "Ask the student to source a document before interpreting it."
• "Never translate for the student; ask for their attempt first."
• "Explain error messages; let the student make the fix."

What does not work

• Vague goals such as "be helpful" or "support learning."
• Long instructions that bury the one rule that matters.
• Instructions that fight the mode, such as asking for full solutions in a Hints class.
• Rules students are not told about. Students should see what the AI has been asked to do.

Rules leak, so plan for it

In one study, chatbots set up by 27 middle-school teachers followed the teachers' intended rules 70.4% of the time and matched their stated purpose 59.3% of the time (preprint). Consumer study modes leak too. Review a few class chats each week, look for answers that slipped through, and tighten the instruction that let them.

Teaching instructions matter

How an AI is told to teach changes how well it teaches. In one tutoring benchmark, GPT-4o's scaffolding win rate rose from 0.50 to 0.82 when it was given teaching instructions, a bigger change than switching to a stronger solver.