S4-S6 Mathematics: teacher-controlled AI hint cards (four levels, never the answer)

• StageS4-S6
• SubjectMathematics
• Learning strandhuman-AI communication and collaboration
• Official documentsGuide to Using AI in Teaching in Primary and Secondary Schools · AI Literacy Learning Framework for Primary and Secondary Schools
• Session timeAbout 30 minutes of preparation before the lesson; then used in any practice lesson

A set of teacher-controlled hint cards: in maths practice the AI gives a hint level by level, never the answer, keeping the thinking with the pupil.

• AudienceTeachers
• ThemeStudent thinking

• EquipmentPrint the cards and the hint record; the school's approved AI tool for the teacher's own preparation
• Version1.6
• Last updated2026-10-15

What this solves

The most common way AI goes wrong in a maths lesson is a pupil asking one question and getting the whole worked solution with the answer in a single reply — the thinking stops the moment the question is asked. The teacher marks a “correct” answer but cannot see whether the pupil understood it or where they stalled.

These cards turn the AI from an answer-giver into a hint-giver: the teacher writes a controlled prompt first, the AI replies with one hint at the level the teacher asked for, and the teacher decides when and how far to release it. The thinking stays with the pupil, and the stall becomes visible to the teacher as a lead for the next lesson.

The cards can sit inside a school’s digital education planning as a classroom-observation, formative assessment and feedback tool for AI + Subject in a maths lesson: the teacher sets a controlled prompt, and how far the questioning may go is the teacher’s call.

Purpose

Once prepared, the teacher can:

1. Write a “hint, not answer” controlled prompt and spot when the AI’s reply sneaks in a value or the final answer.
2. Release hints level by level (reread the question, then strategy direction, then the first step, then compare and check) instead of giving the direction all at once.
3. Use the hint record to note the first level at which each pupil stalled, and see where the class as a whole stalled.
4. Use the record to plan the next lesson’s focus, rather than guessing from the answers they marked.

The approach covers the human-AI communication strand of AI literacy, leaving the decision with the teacher and keeping timely and appropriate use and human-AI collaboration at the centre.

How to use it

Preparation takes about 30 minutes before the lesson; the cards then work in any practice lesson. The before-lesson flow:

1. Write the controlled prompts (10 min) — Write a “hint only” prompt template for the day’s question type (see the example below).
2. Print the cards (5 min) — Print the four-level cards and the topic cards you need, plus the hint record.
3. Set up the hint record (5 min) — Fill in the class and topic, and keep a column for “first level at which they stalled”.
4. Test-run once (10 min) — Using a fictional question, check that the AI stops at a hint and gives no answer; adjust the prompt if needed.

In the lesson (time depends on the practice): hand out L1 first; only move a pupil up to L2, L3, then L4 when they are stuck. Each time you move up, note in the record the level where the pupil first stalled.

Four hint levels

Turning an “answer me” prompt into a “hint me” prompt

Weak prompt (pupil / uncontrolled): “Solve this quadratic equation for me, with all the steps and the answer.”

Controlled prompt (teacher): “My pupil is stuck on this question. Do one thing only: restate what the question asks and name the quantity to be found. Do not mention any method, do not substitute, and give no value and no final answer.”

A controlled prompt has three parts: fix the level (one thing only), name what is banned (no method / no value / no answer), and do none of the working for the pupil.

The 15 topic cards (in the file)

Review checklist

Before-you-use checklist

Hint record

The example is fictional and involves no real pupil or school.

What to do with the record next lesson

• If most of the class stalls at L1: reteach reading the question, before teaching any method.
• If most stalls at L2: they read the question but cannot choose a method — next lesson focus on “spot the method”.
• If only a few pupils stall at L3 or L4: follow up individually or in a small group, without slowing the class.
• The record is also formative: it shows where thinking stops, not a mark.

Files

Hint cards and record (Word document, editable)

The file contains the four-level cards, 15 senior-secondary topic cards (quadratic functions and their graphs, trigonometric identities, sequences and series, probability, coordinate geometry, and interpreting a statistical chart), a controlled-prompt example, the hint record and the before-you-use checklist, ready to print. All examples are fictional and involve no real pupil or school.

Official documents

Every resource in this library is written to the AI Literacy Learning Framework for Primary and Secondary Schools and falls within the policy scope of the Blueprint for Digital Education Development in Primary and Secondary Schools.

This resource maps to:

• Supplement II: Guide to Using AI in Teaching in Primary and Secondary Schools (pp.2-7 to 2-8): recommends checking pupils’ learning and AI use through oral questioning and the submission of thinking processes, rather than collecting finished work alone.
• Supplement I: AI Literacy Learning Framework for Primary and Secondary Schools (p.1-13): calls for varied assessment that covers application, ethics and thinking processes, rather than memorising the final answer alone.

Learning strand: human-AI communication and collaboration

Official documents page: https://www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/primary-secondary/applicable-to-primary-secondary/it-in-edu/debp.html

This page is an independent Beets teaching resource, not an official EDB document.

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