Week 1: Rehearse Your Lesson with Virtual Students
The Compelling Method: Simulate → Reflect → Refine
Introduction
Every teacher knows the script. You spend the evening crafting a lesson plan that looks beautiful on paper — crisp objectives, neat activities, even a plenary that makes you feel like a genius. You step into class, and within five minutes:
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One student pipes up: “Sir, if four is bigger than two, doesn’t that mean a quarter is bigger than a half?”
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Another whispers: “Miss, can I eat the apple instead?”
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And just when you’re about to regain focus, a hand shoots up: “Sir, I forgot my copy. Can I just share with him?”
Suddenly your perfect plan is wobbling like a badly cut fraction of jelly.
The truth is, lesson plans rarely survive first contact with real students. But what if you could test-drive your lesson the night before, rehearse those moments, and smooth out the bumps?
That’s exactly what AI rehearsal offers. By simulating your students in advance, you can:
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Catch misconceptions early (before they derail your explanation).
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Practise tricky explanations (so you don’t get tongue-tied mid-lesson).
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Rehearse behaviour management safely (without raising your blood pressure).
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And — most importantly — reduce workload and stress. Because once your plan is refined, you spend less time firefighting in class and more time actually teaching.
And it’s not just a gimmick. Research backs it up:
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Zhao et al. (2025) showed that lesson plans refined through the simulate → reflect → refine cycle were judged as high-quality as those from expert teachers. 【PMID: 39910074】
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In Karnataka, the Shiksha Copilot project found that over 1,000 teachers cut planning time and reduced stress when supported by AI — while also teaching in a more activity-based way.
So, let’s put it to the test with a real example: teaching fractions (halves and quarters) to a Grade 4 class in Bangladesh.
Step 1: Simulate – Rehearsing the Lesson
Context: Grade 4 classroom, 40 students, mixed ability, typical Bangladeshi government school.
Teacher’s AI Prompt:
“You are a group of Grade 4 students in Bangladesh. I am teaching a lesson on fractions. Some of you understand quickly, some struggle with division, and one or two get distracted. Please respond as students would — asking questions, making mistakes, and sometimes going off task.”
Dialogue Excerpt:
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Teacher: “If I cut this apple into 2 equal parts, what do we call each part?”
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Student A: “That’s a half!”
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Student B: “Two parts? So each is two?”
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Student C: “Sir, can I eat the apple?”
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Teacher: “Now, if I cut the apple into 4 equal parts, what do we call each piece?”
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Student D: “One-fourth… but is that smaller or bigger than a half?”
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Student B: “Four is bigger than two, so one-fourth must be bigger.”
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Student A: “No, it’s smaller — the pieces are smaller.”
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How to Do This Stage
What do I ask the AI?
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“Role-play students learning [topic] in [year group]. Some should get it, some should make mistakes, some should get distracted.”
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“Ask me questions a real student might ask.”
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“Show me likely misconceptions or confusions.”
What do I ask myself?
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Did this simulation feel like my real classroom?
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Which responses surprised me?
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Did I explain clearly, or did I trip myself up?
How do I turn raw AI dialogue into insights?
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Highlight the exact misconceptions voiced by students.
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Note where explanations didn’t land.
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Spot when behaviour derailed the flow.
Step 2: Reflect – Analysing the Rehearsal
From the transcript:
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Misconception 1: Bigger denominator = bigger fraction.
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Misconception 2: Fractions are absolute, not relative to the whole.
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Engagement: Students distracted by wanting to “eat the apple.”
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Higher-order thinking: One student asked whether ¼ is always smaller than ½.
How to Do This Stage
What do I ask the AI?
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“What misconceptions did the students show in this simulation?”
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“Which parts of my explanation were unclear?”
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“Where did the students lose focus?”
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“What extension questions could I add for high achievers?”
What do I ask myself?
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Did I plan for these misconceptions?
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Did I need extra visual aids or analogies?
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Was my timing realistic for clarifying confusion?
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How could I have engaged the distracted student more effectively?
How do I turn raw AI dialogue into insights?
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Link each student response to a specific change in my plan.
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Denominator confusion → Add side-by-side diagram of ½ vs ¼.
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“Big apple vs small apple” → Plan a discussion on fractions being relative to the whole.
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Off-task joke → Prepare a redirect that uses humour but reinforces learning.
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Extension question → Add a challenge activity for confident learners.
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Step 3: Refine – Updating the Lesson Plan
Original Plan (before rehearsal)
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Starter: Show apple, introduce halves.
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Teacher explanation: Halves and quarters with diagrams.
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Guided practice: Paper folding.
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Independent task: Worksheet shading halves and quarters.
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Plenary: Recap.
Refined Plan (after rehearsal)
Starter (5 mins):
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Show apple, cut into halves. Emphasise “equal parts.”
Input (10 mins):
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Cut apple into quarters. Place halves and quarters side by side.
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Explicitly address denominator misconception: “The bigger the number underneath, the smaller the part.”
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Draw halves vs quarters on the board.
Guided practice (10 mins):
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Paper folding activity. Ask: “How do you know both parts are equal?”
Independent task (10 mins):
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Worksheet shading.
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Extension: Compare ½ of a small chapati vs ¼ of a large chapati.
Plenary (5 mins):
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Recap: Which is bigger, ½ or ¼?
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Discuss “big apple vs small apple” to reinforce fractions depend on the whole.
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Ask for real-life examples of halves/quarters at home.
How to Do This Stage
What do I ask the AI?
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“Rewrite my lesson plan with these misconceptions addressed.”
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“Add behaviour strategies to keep distracted students engaged.”
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“Suggest challenge tasks for high achievers.”
What do I ask myself?
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Does this new sequence flow better?
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Will this pre-empt the likely errors?
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Is there a balance of teacher talk, student activity, and reflection?
How do I turn raw AI dialogue into insights?
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I now know my plan must:
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Show visually why ¼ < ½.
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Explicitly teach that fractions are relative to the whole.
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Use humour to handle distraction.
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Include extension for high achievers.
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Original vs Refined Lesson Plan: Fractions (Grade 4)
| Stage | Original Plan | Refined Plan (after Simulate → Reflect → Refine) |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Show apple and ask about halves. | Show apple, cut into halves. Emphasise equal parts. |
| Teacher Input | Explain halves and quarters with diagrams. | Cut apple into quarters. Compare halves vs quarters side by side. Explicitly address misconception: “bigger denominator = smaller part.” |
| Guided Practice | Fold paper into halves and quarters. | Fold paper into halves and quarters. Ask probing Q: “How do you know these are equal?” |
| Independent Task | Worksheet: shading halves and quarters. | Worksheet shading activity + extension task: compare ½ of a small chapati vs ¼ of a large chapati. |
| Plenary | Quick recap Q: “Which is bigger, ½ or ¼?” | Review misconception (½ vs ¼). Discuss “big apple vs small apple.” Invite students to share real-life examples (chapatis, mangoes). |
Why the Refined Plan Maximises Learning
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Misconceptions pre-empted → students see visually why bigger denominators mean smaller parts.
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Engagement managed → distractions turned into teachable moments.
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Higher-order thinking → confident students are stretched.
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Sequencing improved → moves from concrete (apple) → pictorial (diagrams) → abstract (worksheets).
This is what the research promises: using the cycle of Simulate → Reflect → Refine produces a plan more attuned to how students actually respond — and it saves teachers time in the long run.
Final Thought
Lesson planning will always take thought, but it doesn’t need to take your entire evening (and your weekend). By rehearsing with AI, you get a clearer, stronger plan that reduces surprises in class, saves workload, and lets you focus on the best part of teaching: those “lightbulb moments” when students really get it.
We have updated this blog with two further examples one from O-Level chemistry and the other from early years maths.
Week 1: Rehearse Your Lesson with Virtual Students: O’Level Chemistry (Polymerisation)
Week 1: Using AI to Rehearse Counting Principles Lessons
👉 Next week: Spotting Common Misconceptions with AI
