Repeatable Workflow
AI-Assisted Course Material Production System
A 7-phase pipeline that transforms raw curriculum into production-ready MindTap lesson experiences.
7
Phases
↓50%
Time Saved
30+
Modules
1
Curriculum Input
Human
2
AI Content Generation
AIHuman
3
Modular Structuring
System
4
Design System Integration
HumanSystem
5
Human Review & Governance
Human
6
Lesson Assembly
SystemHuman
7
Student Assistant Training
AIHuman
Production System › Phase 1
1 of 7
01
Curriculum Input
Transform learning objectives, topic scope, and assessment goals into a structured lesson blueprint. Define which content is AI-suited vs. human-required.
👤 Human-Led
Inputs
📚 Course syllabus & textbook TOC
🎯 Learning objectives (Bloom's mapped)
📊 Assessment strategy & question types
👥 Audience profile & prerequisite knowledge
Outputs
📋 Structured lesson blueprint (JSON schema)
🏷️ Content type classification matrix
⚖️ AI vs. human authoring boundary map
Tools & Frameworks
🎓 Bloom's Taxonomy
📝 Google Docs
📊 Curriculum Mapping Template
🗂️ JSON Schema Validator
💡 Design Decision

Learning objectives are tagged to Bloom's cognitive levels at input — this metadata drives downstream AI prompt selection, assessment difficulty, and activity type assignment automatically.

02
AI Content Generation
Execute structured prompts to produce concept text, scenario narratives, quiz items, and visual concepts — all as modular blocks, not long-form text.
🤖 AI-Driven👤 Human-Guided
Inputs
📋 Lesson blueprint from Phase 1
📝 Prompt templates (per content type)
📖 Source textbook chapters
🎨 Visual style guide & brand tokens
Outputs
📄 Concept explanations (modular blocks)
🎯 Scenario narratives with choice mapping
📝 Quiz items with distractors & explanations
🖼️ Visual concept sketches & diagrams
Tools & Models
🤖 Claude / GPT-4
🎨 Adobe Firefly
🖼️ Midjourney
📋 Prompt Library
🔄 Version Control
💡 Design Decision

AI generates modular content blocks — never full lessons. Each block has a defined schema (concept, scenario, quiz-item) allowing independent review, versioning, and reuse across courses.

03
Modular Structuring
Organize outputs into MindTap-compatible components: reading planks, interactive scenarios, knowledge checks, and Student Assistant training data.
⚙️ System-Driven
Inputs
📄 Raw AI-generated content blocks
🏷️ Content type classifications
📐 MindTap component schemas
Outputs
📚 Reading Plank components
🎯 Interactive Activity components
📝 Knowledge Check components
🤖 Student Assistant training corpus
💡 Design Decision

Each component is a self-contained module with its own metadata, learning objective mapping, and accessibility attributes — enabling cross-platform reuse and A/B testing of individual components.

04
Design System Integration
Refine AI outputs into production-ready assets using MindTap's design system — Learning Path planks, activity badges, Cengage typography, and color standards.
👤 Human-Led⚙️ System-Assisted
Inputs
🧩 Structured module components
🎨 MindTap design system tokens
📐 Cengage brand guidelines
Outputs
🖥️ Production-ready screen designs
📋 Learning Path plank specifications
WCAG-compliant component library
Tools & Systems
🎨 Figma
🖌️ Photoshop
✏️ Illustrator
📐 MindTap Design System
axe DevTools
05
Human Review & Governance
SME accuracy validation, bias & inclusivity audit, WCAG compliance check, and pedagogical effectiveness review. Modules are approved, revised, or rejected.
👤 Human-Only
Governance Checklist
SME accuracy validation — all facts verified against source textbook
Bias & inclusivity audit — language, imagery, and scenarios reviewed
WCAG 2.1 AA compliance — color contrast, alt text, keyboard navigation
Pedagogical effectiveness — Bloom's alignment and assessment validity
AI disclosure — all AI-generated content labeled and documented
Brand consistency — Cengage/MindTap design system compliance
💡 Design Decision

AI generates — humans validate — the system standardizes. Every AI output passes through a minimum of two human reviewers before entering the production pipeline. This is non-negotiable regardless of AI confidence scores.

06
Lesson Assembly
Approved modules assembled into the MindTap Learning Path: overview → concept reading → bias exploration → interactive scenario → knowledge check → results.
⚙️ System-Driven👤 Human-Verified
🖥️ Live Prototype

The assembled lesson below is the output of this phase — a fully interactive MindTap experience built from the modular components produced in Phases 1–5.

psy101-lesson-screens-desktop.html
07
Student Assistant Training
Configure the GenAI Student Assistant with lesson-specific content boundaries, Socratic response patterns, and textbook references — ensuring it guides without answering.
🤖 AI-Powered👤 Human-Configured
Inputs
📖 Textbook chapter content boundaries
🎯 Learning objectives & key concepts
🚫 Answer exclusion rules per activity
💬 Socratic prompt templates
Outputs
🤖 Trained Student Assistant model config
📚 Textbook reference mappings
💡 Guided Hint response templates
🛡️ Academic integrity guardrails
Academic Integrity Safeguards
Never reveals direct answers to assessment questions
Uses only Cengage textbook content — no external sources
Socratic method — guides thinking through follow-up questions
Provides textbook section references for self-study
Disabled during quizzes, exams, and tests
💡 Design Decision

The Student Assistant is trained per-course and per-chapter. It knows what question the student is working on, but its responses are architecturally prevented from producing the answer — it can only guide the student's thinking toward the answer using Socratic questioning and textbook references.