Tomorrow Ready ResourcesEvidence of Thinking → Evidence of Thinking, Not Polished Output
[P+S] Primary & Secondary Evidence of Thinking

Evidence of Thinking, Not Polished Output

AI tools produce work that looks like the real thing, even when students cannot reconstruct the decisions behind it. The stable point cannot be the platform. It has to be the thinking routine.

Add a two-column template to your next task: Options generated and Choices justified (because...). Collect the right-hand column as the assessable artefact.

Put this on the board before the next draft task: "We assess the trace, not the tool." Ask students to write three lines: one decision I made today, one thing I rejected, one thing I verified.

The left column, options generated, is what AI can produce fluently. The right column, choices justified, is what requires genuine thinking. When the marks sit in the justification rather than the polish, the classroom shifts from finishing fast to thinking longer.

A student who can explain what they chose and why, and what they rejected and why, has demonstrated the reasoning that matters regardless of what tools they used to generate options.

Primary — Year 5

Students ask for three ways to explain erosion. They choose one and write a "because" paragraph using class vocabulary plus a labelled sketch. Assess vocabulary accuracy, causal reasoning, and the link between sketch and explanation.

Secondary — Year 10

Students generate possible angles for a Social Sciences inquiry. They submit a one-page rationale: what they chose, what they rejected, and why. The reasoning is the assessed artefact, not the final inquiry product.

What thinking evidence will you require that students can re-create independently in class?

No personal data into any tool. Ensure all students have the same evidence set. Name one observable in-class evidence point that is fair and accessible for every learner.

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