How Do I Write Better AI Prompts as a Teacher?

Q: How Do I Write Better AI Prompts as a Teacher?

Be specific: year group, time limit, format, and the method you've taught. Specific prompts produce usable output; vague ones produce generic filler you'll spend longer fixing.

Short answer: specificity is everything. The gap between a mediocre AI output and an excellent one is almost never the tool — it's the prompt. "Help me plan a maths lesson" produces generic filler. "Create 8 fluency questions and 2 reasoning questions on column addition for Year 3, using the method where we exchange ten ones for one ten, with an answer key" produces something you can nearly use as-is.

The four details that transform output

Year group and level — pitches vocabulary and difficulty correctly
Format — "as a table," "with an answer key," "as three tiered versions"
Constraints — time limits, materials available, word counts
The method you've actually taught — stops AI introducing an approach your class hasn't met

Build a library instead of starting fresh

When a prompt works well, save it. A personal prompt library — a simple shared doc, organised by subject or task — compounds in value over a term and is worth sharing across your year group. Our Prompt Library gives you tested starting points by role, and the subject-specific prompts guide goes deeper.

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