← Pedagogy + AI Free tool · Grades 6–12

Lesson Lens

Paste the lesson you have already planned, pick a research lens, and copy the prompt into your own AI tool. The answer keeps your lesson and suggests at most two small, concrete upgrades.

What you get back

Science · Grade 8 · Formative check (hinge question, exit ticket)

Lesson
  1. Starter: what do plants need to grow?
  2. Demonstration: pondweed in water under a lamp, bubbles of oxygen.
  3. Slides with three diagrams of photosynthesis.
  4. Worksheet on the word equation.
  5. Students summarise the chapter.
Keep
The demonstration gives students something concrete to reason about before they write, and the worksheet on the word equation gives you evidence you can check.
Upgrade
  1. Before the worksheet, ask a hinge question: "Where does most of a tree's dry mass (the wood, once the water is dried out) come from? A soil, B water, C air, D sunlight." Everyone shows a letter at once. If more than a quarter choose anything other than C, re-teach with the pondweed before moving on.
  2. Replace the chapter summary with an exit ticket: write the word equation, and name one thing a plant takes in and one thing it gives off. Sort the tickets into three piles (secure, partly, not yet) and open tomorrow's lesson with the gap in the "not yet" pile.
Nudge
Right now the first time you see what students understood is the worksheet. Would you rather find out while there is still time to re-teach?
Check
How many choose C on the hinge question, and how many exit tickets end up in the "not yet" pile.

Build your prompt

Do not include student names or student work. The prompt only needs your subject, grade and lesson outline.

Not sure? Start here. Formative check fits almost any lesson: it shows you what students understood before you move on. Read about all twelve lenses further down on this page.

Fill in subject and your lesson to see your prompt.

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The twelve lenses

Each lens looks at your lesson through one well-researched idea about how students learn. Open a card to see a worked example and the evidence behind it.

Lens 1

Retrieval practice

Students pull what they have learned out of memory, instead of reading it again.

Strong

A worked example and the evidence

History · Grade 9 · Retrieval practice

Lesson
  1. Starter: I recap last lesson on the causes of the First World War (5 min).
  2. Slides on the July Crisis of 1914, students take notes.
  3. Pairs read a source extract and answer three questions.
  4. Class discussion: could the war have been avoided?
  5. Students re-read their notes for homework.
Keep
The source extract in pairs puts students to work on real evidence, and the closing discussion asks for a judgement, not just recall.
Upgrade
  1. Swap your recap for a five-question quiz from memory: name two long-term causes, what the alliance system was, and who was assassinated in Sarajevo. Students check against their notes only afterwards.
  2. Replace re-reading for homework with three closed-book questions on the July Crisis, answered first and then checked against the notes.
Nudge
Is re-reading notes at home doing what you hope, when answering from memory would make the same content stick longer?
Check
In the starter quiz, which cause most students could not name. That is what to revisit.

Evidence. Practice testing is one of two strategies rated high utility in the best-known review of study techniques (Dunlosky et al. 2013). A meta-analysis of classroom studies confirms it improves learning in school (Yang et al. 2021), across ages and subjects (Agarwal, Nunes & Blunt 2021). Source: Dunlosky et al. 2013, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Yang et al. 2021, Psychological Bulletin, Agarwal, Nunes & Blunt 2021, Educational Psychology Review

Read more: Evidence Toolkit: Memory

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Lens 2

Spacing across the unit

Practice is spread out over days and weeks, so earlier content keeps coming back.

Strong

A worked example and the evidence

Maths · Grade 7 · Spacing across the unit

Lesson
  1. Introduce adding fractions with different denominators.
  2. Three worked examples on the board.
  3. Worksheet: 25 questions on adding fractions.
  4. Go through answers at the end.
  5. Next week we start decimals.
Keep
Worked examples before independent practice give students a clear model to follow.
Upgrade
  1. Cut the worksheet to 12 questions today and save the rest as five-minute starters spread over the next three weeks, including during decimals.
  2. Add two questions from earlier in the term (equivalent fractions, simplifying) to today's set, mixed in with the new ones.
Nudge
If fractions disappear once decimals start, how much of today's practice will still be there at the end of term?
Check
In two weeks, whether a fraction starter goes as well as today's last questions did.

Evidence. Distributed practice is the other strategy rated high utility by Dunlosky et al. 2013. A 2022 review of classroom and lab research finds that spacing and retrieval together give the most durable learning (Carpenter, Pan & Butler 2022). Source: Dunlosky et al. 2013, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Carpenter, Pan & Butler 2022, Nature Reviews Psychology

Read more: Evidence Toolkit: Memory

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Lens 3

Cognitive load & worked examples

New material is shown in small steps with worked examples, so working memory is not overloaded.

Strong

A worked example and the evidence

Chemistry · Grade 10 · Cognitive load & worked examples

Lesson
  1. Introduce moles, molar mass and Avogadro's number on one slide.
  2. Students read the textbook page while I explain.
  3. Worksheet: 10 mole calculations, mixed difficulty.
  4. Help students who get stuck.
Keep
The worksheet gives every student real calculation practice in the same lesson as the new idea.
Upgrade
  1. Split the slide: introduce molar mass and one calculation first, and leave Avogadro's number for later in the lesson or the next lesson.
  2. Before the worksheet, show two fully worked mole calculations, then one half-finished one students complete, and start the worksheet with the easiest questions.
Nudge
Can students read the textbook and listen to you at the same time, or is one of them the better source in that moment?
Check
How many students can finish the half-finished example on their own before the worksheet starts.

Evidence. Cognitive load theory rests on decades of replicated experiments. The worked-example effect is one of its most robust findings, confirmed in a 2023 meta-analysis, and it fades as students gain expertise (Sweller, van Merriënboer & Paas 2019; Barbieri et al. 2023). Source: Sweller, van Merriënboer & Paas 2019, Educational Psychology Review, Barbieri et al. 2023, Educational Psychology Review

Read more: Evidence Toolkit: Explicit instruction

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Lens 4

Dual coding (words + visuals)

Words and a clear visual explain the same idea together, without extra decoration.

Promising

A worked example and the evidence

Geography · Grade 8 · Dual coding (words + visuals)

Lesson
  1. Slides on the water cycle: six bullet points per slide.
  2. I read the slides aloud and add examples.
  3. Students copy the key words into their books.
  4. Video clip on flooding (4 min).
  5. Exit question: explain the water cycle in your own words.
Keep
Ending with an explanation in their own words shows you what students actually understood, not just what they copied.
Upgrade
  1. Replace the bullet slides with one blank water cycle diagram that you draw and label live while students label their own copy.
  2. Drop the slide text you read aloud and keep only the diagram on screen, so students listen and look rather than read and listen.
Nudge
Is copying key words doing what labelling a diagram would do, when students must connect the stages themselves?
Check
Whether students' exit explanations follow the diagram's order of stages, and which link between stages is missing most.

Evidence. An overview of meta-analyses on multimedia design finds reliable benefits from pairing words with relevant visuals and removing extras, mostly in short studies (Noetel et al. 2022). Long-term classroom evidence is thinner. Source: Noetel et al. 2022, Review of Educational Research

Read more: Evidence Toolkit: Memory

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Lens 5

Formative check (hinge question, exit ticket)

A quick check during or at the end of the lesson shows what students understood, so the next step is based on evidence.

Strong

A worked example and the evidence

Science · Grade 8 · Formative check (hinge question, exit ticket)

Lesson
  1. Starter: what do plants need to grow?
  2. Demonstration: pondweed in water under a lamp, bubbles of oxygen.
  3. Slides with three diagrams of photosynthesis.
  4. Worksheet on the word equation.
  5. Students summarise the chapter.
Keep
The demonstration gives students something concrete to reason about before they write, and the worksheet on the word equation gives you evidence you can check.
Upgrade
  1. Before the worksheet, ask a hinge question: "Where does most of a tree's dry mass (the wood, once the water is dried out) come from? A soil, B water, C air, D sunlight." Everyone shows a letter at once. If more than a quarter choose anything other than C, re-teach with the pondweed before moving on.
  2. Replace the chapter summary with an exit ticket: write the word equation, and name one thing a plant takes in and one thing it gives off. Sort the tickets into three piles (secure, partly, not yet) and open tomorrow's lesson with the gap in the "not yet" pile.
Nudge
Right now the first time you see what students understood is the worksheet. Would you rather find out while there is still time to re-teach?
Check
How many choose C on the hinge question, and how many exit tickets end up in the "not yet" pile.

Evidence. Black & Wiliam's 1998 review made the case that formative assessment raises achievement, and a 2024 meta-analysis of 118 K-12 studies confirms a positive, more modest average effect (Yao et al. 2024). A whole-school EEF trial found a similar, real effect at scale. Source: Black & Wiliam 1998, Assessment in Education, Yao et al. 2024, Educational Research and Evaluation, EEF: Embedding Formative Assessment evaluation

Read more: Evidence Toolkit: Feedback · Evidence Toolkit: Curriculum and assessment

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Lens 6

Feedback that moves learning

Feedback tells students where they are going, how they are doing and what to do next, and they act on it.

Strong

A worked example and the evidence

English · Grade 11 · Feedback that moves learning

Lesson
  1. Return marked essays on Of Mice and Men with grades and comments.
  2. Students read their comments.
  3. Introduce the next essay question.
  4. Students start planning the new essay.
Keep
Moving straight from one essay to planning the next gives students a natural place to use what they learned.
Upgrade
  1. Before students see the grade, give them 15 minutes to rewrite one paragraph using the comment on it. Show the grade afterwards.
  2. Pick the most common weakness across the class (for example, quotes without analysis), model one improved paragraph, and have students find and fix one example in their own essay.
Nudge
When the grade and the comments arrive together, which one do you think students read?
Check
Whether the rewritten paragraphs show the change the comment asked for, and whether it carries over into the new plan.

Evidence. Feedback is among the best-evidenced approaches in the EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit. A 2020 meta-analysis finds a medium average effect with large variation: feedback that carries rich information about the task and how to improve works much better than praise, rewards or punishment (Wisniewski, Zierer & Hattie 2020). Source: EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit: Feedback, Wisniewski, Zierer & Hattie 2020, Frontiers in Psychology

Read more: Evidence Toolkit: Feedback

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Lens 7

Explicit instruction (Rosenshine)

The teacher models, guides practice and checks understanding before students work on their own.

Strong

A worked example and the evidence

Maths · Grade 6 · Explicit instruction (Rosenshine)

Lesson
  1. Introduce finding the area of a triangle.
  2. Show the formula on a slide.
  3. Students work through textbook exercises alone.
  4. I walk around and help.
  5. Check answers at the end.
Keep
Walking around during practice lets you see who is stuck while there is still time to help.
Upgrade
  1. Before the formula, cut a rectangle in half along its diagonal and think aloud: why is the triangle half the rectangle? Then draw a rectangle around a triangle that is not right-angled and show that it is still half. Model two examples step by step.
  2. Add a guided round: three triangles on mini whiteboards, everyone shows the answer, and move to the textbook only when most get them right.
Nudge
If students go from the formula straight to working alone, how do you know they are ready before half the lesson has gone?
Check
The share of correct whiteboards in the guided round. Aim for most of the class before independent work.

Evidence. A meta-analysis of 328 studies over half a century found consistently positive effects of Direct Instruction, a highly structured form of explicit teaching (Stockard et al. 2018). Rosenshine's principles summarise the wider research on explicit instruction for classroom use. Source: Stockard et al. 2018, Review of Educational Research, Rosenshine 2012, American Educator

Read more: Evidence Toolkit: Explicit instruction

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Lens 8

Metacognition & self-regulation

Students plan, monitor and evaluate their own learning, and the teacher shows them how.

Strong

A worked example and the evidence

Spanish · Grade 9 · Metacognition & self-regulation

Lesson
  1. Vocabulary for describing your town.
  2. Listening exercise from the textbook audio.
  3. Students write a short paragraph about their own town.
  4. Swap with a partner and read each other's paragraph.
Keep
Writing about their own town makes the vocabulary personal, and reading a partner's text gives a real reader.
Upgrade
  1. Before the listening exercise, ask: "What will you listen for, and what will you do when you miss a word?" Model your own strategy once: listen for the words you know and guess from context.
  2. Before the paragraph, students write one line on how they will check their own text (verb endings, adjective agreement), then use it before swapping.
Nudge
Students check each other's paragraphs. Would they learn more by checking their own first, with a list they made themselves?
Check
Whether students can name the strategy they used when they missed a word in the listening.

Evidence. Metacognition and self-regulation is one of the highest-impact, best-evidenced approaches in the EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit (+8 months, 4 padlocks), when it is taught explicitly inside subject content. Source: EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit: Metacognition and self-regulation

Read more: Evidence Toolkit: Self-regulated learning

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Lens 9

Dialogic discussion

Students build on each other's ideas in discussion, and the teacher's questions push for reasons.

Promising

A worked example and the evidence

Religion and ethics · Grade 12 · Dialogic discussion

Lesson
  1. Introduce the question: is it ever right to break the law?
  2. Short text on civil disobedience.
  3. Whole-class discussion, students put up their hands.
  4. Students write their own answer.
Keep
The question has no single right answer, which is exactly what a real discussion needs.
Upgrade
  1. Give one minute of silent thinking and one minute in pairs before anyone speaks to the whole class, so more students have something to say.
  2. During the discussion, ask the next speaker to start with "I agree with … because" or "I see it differently from … because", so students answer each other, not just you.
Nudge
With hands up, the same few students often do most of the talking. Who would speak if you chose speakers after pair talk instead?
Check
How many different students speak, and how many responses refer to a classmate's point.

Evidence. An EEF trial of Dialogic Teaching found positive effects in English, science and maths, though a follow-up found no effect on later national tests. A large classroom study links participation and elaborated reasoning in whole-class talk to better outcomes (Howe et al. 2019). Results vary with how well it is done. Source: EEF: Dialogic Teaching evaluation, Howe et al. 2019, Journal of the Learning Sciences

Read more: Evidence Toolkit: Questioning and discussion

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Lens 10

Belonging & safety to try

Students feel they belong and that mistakes are part of learning, so they dare to try.

Promising

A worked example and the evidence

PE and health · Grade 7 · Belonging & safety to try

Lesson
  1. Warm-up.
  2. Introduce the forward roll, I demonstrate.
  3. Students take turns rolling in front of the class.
  4. Best rolls shown as examples.
  5. Cool-down.
Keep
Your demonstration first gives everyone a clear picture of the movement before they try it.
Upgrade
  1. Let students practise in groups of three on separate mats, with one roller and two helpers giving one tip each, instead of rolling one at a time in front of the class.
  2. Show a common mistake (a hand placed wrong) and how to fix it, as well as a good roll, so getting it wrong becomes part of the lesson.
Nudge
Rolling in front of the whole class can stop the least confident from trying at all. What would change if the first attempts happened out of sight of the group?
Check
How many students get several attempts, and whether the hesitant ones try at all.

Evidence. A meta-analytic review links school belonging to motivation, well-being and achievement in secondary school (Korpershoek et al. 2020). Brief belonging interventions have helped some students, but a 2023 study of almost 27,000 students found they worked only where the school gave students real chances to belong (Walton et al. 2023). Source: Korpershoek et al. 2020, Research Papers in Education, Walton & Cohen 2011, Science, Walton et al. 2023, Science

Read more: Evidence Toolkit: Well-being, motivation and agency

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Lens 11

Thinking depth (Bloom / SOLO)

Questions and tasks move from recalling facts to explaining, applying and judging.

Framework

A worked example and the evidence

Social studies · Grade 11 · Thinking depth (Bloom / SOLO)

Lesson
  1. Introduce the three branches of government.
  2. Students fill in a table: branch, who, what they do.
  3. Quiz: match the branch to its role.
  4. Homework: read the next chapter.
Keep
The table gives students a clear structure for content they need before they can reason about it.
Upgrade
  1. Replace the matching quiz with one case: "The government proposes a new law, but a majority in parliament votes against it. What can each branch do next?" Students answer in pairs.
  2. Add a final question that asks for a judgement: "Which branch do you think has the most power in our country, and what is your strongest reason?"
Nudge
If every task asks students to recall who does what, when do they get to use it?
Check
Whether the answers to the case explain how the branches check each other, or only list them again.

Evidence. Bloom's revised taxonomy (Krathwohl 2002) and the SOLO taxonomy (Biggs & Collis 1982) are widely used to plan and judge the depth of questions and tasks. They are languages for planning, not methods tested in intervention studies. Source: Krathwohl 2002, Theory Into Practice, Biggs & Collis 1982, Evaluating the Quality of Learning: The SOLO Taxonomy

Read more: Evidence Toolkit: Curriculum alignment

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Lens 12

The trade-off question (AI use)

What do students get worse at if AI does this part?

Choosewise

A worked example and the evidence

English · Grade 10 · The trade-off question (AI use)

Lesson
  1. Read a short story in class.
  2. Discuss the main character's choices.
  3. Introduce the essay question: how does the writer build tension?
  4. Homework: write the essay (600 words).
Keep
Reading and discussing the story together gives every student their own ideas to start from before writing.
Upgrade
  1. Move the planning into class: in the last 15 minutes, students pick three moments of tension and write one sentence each on how the writer builds it. That plan is their own thinking, done before anyone opens an AI tool.
  2. Ask students to hand in the plan with the essay and to highlight one sentence they rewrote and why, so their process shows.
Nudge
Essay homework is exactly the part many students hand to AI. If AI writes the analysis, what do they get worse at: spotting how tension is built, or putting it into words?
Check
Whether the in-class plans name specific moments in the text, and whether the essays build on them.

Evidence. This is Choosewise's own question, not a research finding. It draws on research showing that unrestricted AI help can raise practice scores while lowering learning once the help is removed (Bastani et al. 2025). Source: Bastani et al. 2025, PNAS

Read more: Evidence Toolkit: AI and learning science · The WISE Framework for Education

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How to use the answer

  1. Plan as usual. A few lines are enough: what happens, in what order.
  2. Read Keep first. It names what already works, so you know what not to change.
  3. Try at most two upgrades. Pick the one that fits your class, or both. The Nudge is a question, and you can ignore it.
  4. Look for the Check in class. It tells you whether the change worked.

Check the AI's suggestions before the lesson. The AI proposes; you decide.

How strong is the evidence?

Sources

Each source is also in its lens's card. For research on many other teaching strategies, see the Evidence Toolkit on this site.

AI tools and age rules

You use AI to improve your own plan. Your students do not need to. If students use AI themselves, these rules apply (October 2026):

  • Copilot Chat: Students aged 13 and over, through the school's own Microsoft 365 account. The school's administrator must set each student's age group and consent.
  • Gemini for Education: Open to education users of all ages, with a stricter experience for under-18s. The school's administrator must turn it on.
  • ChatGPT: Ages 13 and over on personal accounts, with a parent's or guardian's permission under 18. ChatGPT for Teachers is for school staff only.
  • Claude: Ages 18 and over. In a school, for teachers only.

Rules differ between countries and change often. Check your own national rules and your school policy before students use any AI tool.

The card deck

All twelve lenses with their worked examples, one per A4 page, plus a fill-in prompt for when you are offline. Free to print and share.

Download the card deck (PDF)