Purpose
Start with the learning.
What should students understand or be able to do? Name one barrier and the evidence that would show progress.
In a price model: Help students explain how total cost changes when the price per item stays constant.
Human-centered • AI-supported • Learning first
Build with AI.
Keep the human
thinking.
Turn one learning goal and one classroom barrier into a purposeful resource. PHACT helps you decide what to build, what students need to think through, and where your judgment matters.
PPurpose
HHuman anchor
AAudience
CComponents
TTone & constraints
Five decisions before you build
The purpose comes first.
The human comes next.
An AI-generated resource can look polished and still miss what students need. Use PHACT to make your instructional decisions explicit before asking a tool to produce anything.
Human anchor
Keep people in charge.
What does the teacher know about this class? What must students think through themselves? Make those responsibilities explicit.
In a price model: I verify the mathematics and choose the next question. Students predict and justify before seeing a result.
Audience
Design for your actual learners.
Consider prior knowledge, language, reading, communication, access needs, and available devices. Build supports that everyone can use.
In a price model: Use pictures alongside quantities, optional vocabulary support, and opportunities to explain orally or in writing.
Components
Give every feature a learning job.
Choose the smallest set of controls, representations, and interactions that supports the goal.
In a price model: Include a quantity control, a visual model, a prediction prompt, a reveal button, and a reset button.
Tone & constraints
Set the boundaries.
Specify clear language, accessible presentation, expected behavior, and limits on data and answers.
In a price model: Use short directions, visible labels, keyboard access, fictional prices, and no accounts or saved student responses.
Why the H comes second
Your knowledge of learners shapes the design.
After naming the purpose, identify the decisions and relationships that stay with people. Then choose the features.
- Teachers guide. Choose accurate examples, inspect the resource, interpret student thinking, and decide what to teach next.
- Students reason. Predict, compare, explain, question, and transfer their understanding to a new task.
- Supports open access. Offer pictures, language support, and ways to respond while preserving the same learning goal. Individual accommodations may still be needed.
Start small, across grade bands
One barrier.
One useful first build.
These are planning examples to adapt, not finished classroom apps. Teachers do the AI-assisted building; students use the resulting resource without needing to prompt AI.
Story sequencing board
Support an oral retelling with beginning, middle, and end.
Human anchor
The teacher listens, interprets language, and asks follow-up questions. The tool does not evaluate the story.
Explore this classroom idea
Students do: Students choose and order picture cards, then tell the story aloud.
First-build choices: Use teacher-selected pictures with text labels. Offer buttons to move each card as well as optional dragging.
Look for learning: Can a student explain why an event belongs in that part of the story?
Fraction model explorer
Connect a fraction to a representation of equal parts.
Human anchor
The teacher checks the models and selects questions. Students explain the relationship before a model is revealed.
Explore this classroom idea
Students do: Students predict, build a model, and explain what the numerator and denominator describe.
First-build choices: Use teacher-verified fractions, optional vocabulary, and a clear whole. Avoid presenting unequal parts as equal fractions.
Look for learning: Can a student represent a new fraction and explain what counts as one whole?
Proportional reasoning visualizer
Connect a fixed unit price to quantities and total costs.
Human anchor
The teacher chooses what to reveal and interprets explanations. Students justify the relationship.
Explore this classroom idea
Students do: Students predict and compare a table, double number line, graph, or equation.
First-build choices: Start with one representation. Use fictional whole-number examples and clear the old answer when the input changes.
Look for learning: Can a student explain a new case without relying on the visualizer?
Simulation assumption explorer
Investigate how a model’s assumptions shape its output.
Human anchor
The teacher verifies the model and its limits. Students evaluate what its output can and cannot support.
Explore this classroom idea
Students do: Students change one assumption, predict an effect, and explain the result.
First-build choices: Label units, assumptions, valid input ranges, and model limitations. Avoid implying the simulation is new real-world evidence.
Look for learning: Can a student explain which conclusion depends on a chosen assumption?
Ready to use and adapt
Your teacher starter kit.
Choose one upcoming lesson. Use the planner to write your brief, then check the result before using it with students.
01 / PRINTABLE PLANNING SHEET
Plan with PHACT
Five guiding questions, space for your decisions, and a prompt for evidence of learning.
Open planning sheet02 / PRINTABLE REVIEW CHECKLIST
Test before teaching
Check accuracy, student thinking, access, data handling, and the reset behavior.
Open testing checklist03 / DOWNLOADABLE TEXT TEMPLATE
Ask for a first prototype
A reusable PHACT build prompt you can adapt for your school-approved AI tool.
Download the build prompt (.txt)04 / BEGINNER GUIDE
New to vibe coding?
Learn how to choose a small project, build with AI, test it, and improve one thing at a time.
Read the beginner guide05 / EDITABLE WORD DOCUMENT
16 ideas across K–12
Explore the full grade-band idea bank, with classroom use cases, human anchors, and adaptable PHACT prompts.
Download the idea bank (.docx)Printable resources open as web pages. Use your browser’s Print command to print them or save as PDF.
Put the framework to work
Write your first PHACT brief.
A sentence for each part is enough to start. This builder arranges your words into a prompt; it does not use AI.
Use general classroom observations, not names or identifying student details. Entries stay in this page while it is open and are cleared on reload. Download your prompt to keep a copy.
Your ready-to-adapt prompt
Complete the five fields, then choose “Create my prompt.” Review the result before using it.
A brief is the beginning
Build. Test. Learn from the learning.
PHACT belongs in the planning stage of a larger process. A good brief still needs teacher review and evidence from the lesson.
Learn
Notice one misconception or barrier. Clarify the content and the learning goal.
Plan
Use PHACT to name the purpose, human responsibilities, learners, features, and boundaries.
Build
Ask for a small first prototype using your school-approved tool and verified content.
Test
Try known examples, keyboard navigation, input changes, and reset. Fix problems before classroom use.
Explain
Have students explain their thinking. Name the tool’s rules, assumptions, and limits where relevant.
Transfer
Try a new task or example. Use student explanations to decide what to keep or change.
Start with a lesson you already teach.
One learning goal. One barrier. Five intentional decisions.