With OneTutor, you can shape how the AI tutor behaves in your courses:
Tutor Behaviour: set once → control how the tutor answers questions.
Quiz Additional Prompts: set per generation → fine-tune how quiz questions are phrased.
This page provides best practices and ready-to-use building blocks you can easily adapt.
1. Tutor Behaviour
Why?
To make sure the tutor’s responses match your teaching style – e.g., whether they should be guiding, reserved, or evaluative. Instructions are loaded automatically based on relevance, so you can add multiple and let them grow with the course.
Modular Building Blocks (Combine like Lego):
Tone & Role
“Respond factually and precisely, no small talk, key info first.”
Socratic Questioning
“Ask 1–2 follow-up questions before answering. Give hints instead of full solutions.”
Structure
“Organize each answer into: Short Answer – Why – Application – Source Reference.”
Misconceptions
“Explicitly mark common misunderstandings as warnings.”
Examples & Transfer
“Add short examples from the course context.”
Tables
“For comparisons, use 2–3-column tables.”
Next Steps
“End with a short Next Step for the learner.”
👉 Best Practice: Combine no more than 3–4 modules.
Examples:
“Answer precisely and with structure. Provide short definitions and highlight typical pitfalls.”
“Work in a Socratic style: ask up to two follow-up questions, then offer a solution suggestion.”
2. Quiz Additional Prompts
Why?
You can control the type of questions generated – e.g., only definition questions, misconception checks, or analytical tasks.
Options for Additional Instructions:
Control Bloom’s Level
“Only recall questions (definitions, terms, facts).”
“Focus on application in simple examples.”
“Questions should require critical evaluation.”
Distractor Design (Multiple Choice)
“Each distractor should contain exactly one subtle inaccuracy.”
“At least one distractor should reflect a common misconception.”
Answer Format (Free Text)
“Answers should be written in 3 bullet points, no continuous text.”
Numbers & Units
“Numerical questions must use SI units, tolerance ±2%.”
Examples:
“Create MC questions with exactly 4 answer choices, covering key definitions from the course. Each question has one correct answer.”
“Generate questions that ask students to provide their own examples for different concepts.”
3. Best Practices
Less is more → short, clear additional prompts work best.
First, generate 1–2 test questions, review them, then proceed with a batch.
Including well-written example questions (with answer options) in the additional instructions can improve quiz quality.
Avoid statements about exam relevance → instead, focus on learning objectives.
Define consistent notation and units within your instructions.