Get better lessons from Mindsmith
The Mindsmith Agent works from the instructions and context you give it. A clear brief helps it make better decisions about the lesson's structure, depth, tone, and activities. For more about the creation process, see The Mindsmith Agent.
1. Start with a clear brief
Include the audience, scope, content, structure, and any specific activities you want in your first message.
For example:
"Create a lesson teaching new warehouse employees how to safely operate a forklift. Cover pre-operation inspection, basic controls, load handling, and common hazards. Include a scenario where the learner makes decisions in a realistic warehouse situation. End with an assessment."
This tells the Agent who the lesson is for, what it should cover, and how it should be structured. A request such as "Make a forklift training" leaves those decisions open, so the Agent will need to ask more questions.
Write the first message as if you were briefing a colleague who has not seen the project.
2. Answer the Agent's questions
When a request is vague or missing context, the Agent asks clarifying questions such as:
Who is the target learner?
What should the assessment focus on?
Should the lesson follow the source document's structure or synthesize it more freely?
Your answers affect the lesson. For example, choosing between experienced nurses and first-year nursing students changes the vocabulary, assumed knowledge, examples, and depth of explanation.
You can skip the questions and let the Agent use its best judgment, but answering them gives it information that it cannot infer about your learners.
3. Explain how to use source material
You can attach documents, PDFs, slide decks, and videos in the chat. The Agent reads and searches them to create the lesson. Tell it which material matters and how closely it should follow the source.
Useful source material includes:
Documents with clear headings and sections
Videos with clear audio, which produces a better transcript
Scope instructions, such as "Use chapters 3 and 5, skip the rest"
Direction such as "Follow this document's structure" or "Use this as a reference but teach it your way"
Unrelated files can muddle the result because the Agent will try to use them. A long manual also needs scope. If only part of an attached video matters, include the relevant section or timestamps.
4. Describe the learner
Tell the Agent who will take the lesson. "Senior managers familiar with company policy" calls for a different lesson than "new hires in their first week."
The audience affects:
The vocabulary and amount of jargon
What the lesson explains or assumes learners already know
Whether examples cover foundational scenarios or real-world edge cases
Whether the lesson gives a conceptual overview or detailed procedures
Without this context, the Agent aims for a general audience.
5. Review the storyboard
Before generating lesson pages, the Agent creates a storyboard with a title, learning objectives, and page-by-page outline. Review it while changes are still quick to make.
Check that the objectives match your intent and that the page order works for the learners. Ask the Agent to add or remove a section, move a scenario, or insert a knowledge check before it generates the pages.
Specific feedback is more useful than general approval. For example: "Swap sections 2 and 3, and add a matching activity after the vocabulary page."
6. Name the interaction you want
"Make it interactive" does not tell the Agent what learners should do. You can request flashcards, tabs, accordions, timelines, process diagrams, branching scenarios, matching activities, sorting exercises, conversations, or AI video.
For example:
"Add a branching scenario where the learner practices a difficult conversation with a customer"
"Use flashcards for the vocabulary section"
"Include a sorting activity where learners categorize the risks by severity"
"I want a process tile showing the five steps of the intake procedure"
Different interactions suit different goals. Flashcards support recall, scenarios support application, and tabs help compare options. If you do not know which format to request, describe the learner's task, such as "I need the learner to practice making a decision under pressure," and let the Agent choose.
7. Revise the generated lesson
The generated lesson is a first draft. Continue in the same conversation so the Agent can use the objectives, sources, audience, and storyboard already in context.
Ask for specific changes such as:
"Make page 4 shorter and more conversational"
"Add a branching scenario after the safety procedures section"
"Replace the quiz on page 7 with a matching activity"
"The tone is too formal. Make it friendlier throughout"
"Add an image to the intro page that shows the facility layout"
The Agent can edit a page without regenerating the whole lesson. It can also add or remove pages, swap tile types, adjust the depth, regenerate images, and restructure sections.
8. Provide learning objectives
The Agent can use even rough objectives to:
Keep the lesson focused on its intended outcomes
Align assessment questions with what learners should be able to do
Choose practice and question types that fit the material
Teach a concept before asking learners to demonstrate it
If you leave the objectives blank, the Agent infers them from the prompt. A rough list such as "understand X, be able to do Y, evaluate Z" gives it more direction.
9. Describe the tone and style
Instructions such as "professional but approachable," "academic and formal," or "casual and encouraging" affect headings, bullet points, and assessment feedback.
If your organization has a specific voice, describe the sentence structure, vocabulary, formatting, and examples you want the Agent to follow. Otherwise, it uses a professional tone by default.
In short
Give the Agent a clear brief, relevant sources, learner context, and learning objectives. Review the storyboard before generation, name the activities you want, and use the same conversation to refine the first draft.
Create your first lesson or read more about how the Mindsmith Agent works.