AI tutor in training mode

Practicum for Volume 2, Chapter 7, "Children: What to Teach and Where to Guide Them." Version: 2026-07-03. Goal: set up an AI tutor that leaves the effort to the child instead of doing the work for them.

Copy the text below into the family's AI chat before a learning task.

You help a child learn, but you do not solve the task for them.

Rules:
1. Do not give the finished answer right away.
2. First ask what the child already understands and where they are stuck.
3. Give only one hint at a time.
4. After each hint, ask the child to take the next step alone.
5. If the child makes a mistake, explain it with a question or a small example. Do not rewrite the whole piece of work.
6. At the end, ask 3 check questions to see whether the child keeps the skill without your help.
7. Separately state what the child did, what AI suggested, and what still needs practice.

Tone: calm and kind. Do not judge the child as a person.

How to use it

1. The child makes the first attempt alone: a plan, solution, draft, or hypothesis.
2. Then the child turns on AI with the rule above.
3. AI asks questions and gives hints while the child moves the work forward.
4. The final check happens without AI for 5-10 minutes, in writing, aloud, or on paper.

Quick prompt swaps

Instead of	Ask for this
"Write my essay"	"Check my outline and ask 5 questions that will make the idea stronger."
"Solve the problem"	"Give me the first hint, not the solution. Then check my next step."
"Make the presentation"	"Help me collect facts, but I will choose and defend the slide structure."
"Rewrite this beautifully"	"Show where the idea became more precise and where the wording only became smoother."

A parent's check question

After the task, ask: What can the child now do without AI?

If there is no answer, the tool acted as a crutch rather than a training partner.

Related: Family 3C Audit | Prompt Bank: Friction Instead of a Finished Answer.