The Science Behind Smart Lesson Generator

What does it take to build an AI-powered tool teachers can truly trust?

That’s the question we asked ourselves at Pearson when we set out to create Smart Lesson Generator — a new AI-powered tool that helps teachers generate high-quality, curriculum-aligned English language activities in seconds, helping to reduce workload and ease pressure on educators

Here’s how we tackled it:

Precision is the point

Some AI tools struggle to generate content at the right level of difficulty for language learners. Smart Lesson Generator addresses this challenge by filtering every piece of content through the Global Scale of English (GSE), Pearson’s globally recognised standard of English language proficiency that defines what learners can do at every step of their journey, from beginner to advanced.

What makes Smart Lesson Generator special is that it doesn’t just crank out content, it checks it. Against real learning objectives. Against real vocabulary and grammar expectations. Against real student levels.

Why? Because every teacher knows that hitting the right level of challenge is crucial. You want tasks that stretch students, not stress them. And you want to know that what you’re giving them is trusted, and is genuinely useful for real learners, in real classrooms.

Simplicity, powered by science

Here’s how it works:

• A teacher selects the topic, level, and type of activity, whether they’re using Pearson materials or not.
• AI generates the content based on a Large Language Model (LLM) based on input from the teacher.
• Then, GSE kicks in, filtering and refining the activity to make sure it’s just right for that learner level.
• Teachers can use it as-is or tweak it further. Either way, they’re starting from a place of pedagogical confidence.

The result? Less time wrestling with resources. More time connecting with students. And lessons that are precisely pitched to support learner progress.

Built for the way teachers actually work

We know teachers are under pressure. Our research found that 76%* spend at least an hour of their own time each week on lesson planning, and for many it’s much more. Smart Lesson Generator helps gives that time back.

Already, over 4,000 educators around the world have access to the tool to streamline prep and personalise learning — without sacrificing quality.

One teacher told us it’s like having a “personal teaching assistant from the future.” We like that. And we’d also add: it’s a teaching assistant that’s been trained on decades of educational science, too.

Find out more about Smart Lesson Generator.

^*Pearson ‘Learners’ Voice’ 2024

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Brenden Mielke is Pearson’s Vice President of Product for English Language Learning.