AI Kairos Learning Lab — Prompt Framework

The FOCUS
Framework

Before you prompt, ask yourself: do I need AI for this? If yes, these five questions transform vague AI requests into clear, useful instructions. Better prompts. Better outputs. Every time.

Try the builder → How it works

How FOCUS works

Five questions. Infinite clarity.

Before you type a single prompt, answer these five questions. The quality of your AI output is directly tied to how clearly you can answer them.

Function

What do you want the AI to do?

Defining the function sets the entire tone and approach of the response. AI can be a teacher, editor, researcher, brainstorm partner, code reviewer, devil's advocate, and hundreds of other roles — but it needs to know which one you need.

Act as an experienced science teacher explaining to a curious 10-year-old…

You are a strict academic editor reviewing my essay for clarity…

You are a senior software engineer doing a code review…

Objective

What is the actual goal of this task?

The objective is not just the topic — it is the desired outcome. What do you want the reader to understand, feel, or do after reading the output? Clear objectives prevent AI from giving technically correct but practically useless responses.

The goal is to help my students understand why AI can be wrong, without making them afraid of it.

I need to convince my principal to support a new AI literacy unit.

Write a function that validates email format and returns true/false.

Context

What background does AI need to give a useful answer?

AI cannot read your mind or know your situation. Context bridges the gap between a generic response and one that actually fits your reality. Include what you have tried, what constraints you are working under, and any relevant background.

My students are in grade 4, have never used AI tools, and our school policy prohibits using AI in class.

I am writing a cover letter for a nonprofit role after 10 years in corporate finance.

I am using React with TypeScript and the project uses Tailwind CSS for styling.

User

Who is the audience for this output?

The same information explained for a kindergarten teacher reads completely differently than the same information for a university professor. Defining the user shapes vocabulary, tone, assumed knowledge, and length. This single element is responsible for most of the difference between generic and truly useful AI output.

The audience is elementary school teachers who are not tech-savvy and may be nervous about AI.

This is for a 14-year-old who is curious but skeptical about AI.

The reader is a CFO with no technical background but strong financial literacy.

Specifics

What format, length, and constraints apply?

Specifics eliminate guesswork. Word count, format, tone, what to include, what to avoid — all of this belongs in your prompt. AI will make its best guess about these things if you leave them out, and its guess is often wrong.

Keep it under 300 words, use bullet points, avoid jargon, and do not mention specific AI brands.

One paragraph only. Active voice. Written in first person. Professional but warm.

Return only the function, no explanation, comments, or markdown fences.

The difference FOCUS makes

Before and after.

Same request. Completely different results. The only change is applying FOCUS.

❌ Without FOCUS

"Explain AI to my students."

What you get: A generic 5-paragraph essay about AI history and applications that could apply to any age group, uses adult vocabulary, and does not match your classroom situation at all. You rewrite it from scratch.

✅ With FOCUS

"Act as an enthusiastic science teacher [F]. Explain what AI is and why it sometimes gets things wrong [O], for a class of 9-year-olds who have used voice assistants but never thought about how they work [C+U]. Use one simple analogy, keep it to 150 words, and end with a question for class discussion [S]."

What you get: A classroom-ready explanation at exactly the right reading level, with the analogy you needed, in the right length, ready to use.

❌ Without FOCUS

"Write me a cover letter."

What you get: A template cover letter with placeholder brackets for your name and role. Sounds like every other cover letter written by AI. Goes straight to the rejection pile.

✅ With FOCUS

"Act as a professional career coach [F]. Write a cover letter [O] for a teacher transitioning into instructional design, with 8 years in K-12 but no corporate experience [C], applying to a senior instructional designer role at a healthcare company [U]. 3 short paragraphs, professional but human tone, lead with transferable skills [S]."

What you get: A specific, human cover letter that addresses the career transition directly. Actually useful.

Interactive builder

Build a FOCUS prompt.

Fill in each field and the builder assembles your prompt. Copy it directly into any AI tool.

FOCUS Prompt Builder

Fill in what you know. Leave blank what doesn't apply.

F — Function

O — Objective

C — Context

U — User

S — Specifics

Your FOCUS Prompt

Real uses

FOCUS in action.

Six real contexts. See how FOCUS changes the prompt for each one.

📚

Classroom lesson

Creating a lesson explanation at the right reading level for your specific students.

"Act as a 5th grade teacher [F]. Explain what a large language model is [O] for a class studying digital citizenship [C], for 10-year-olds who know how to use Google but have never thought about how it works [U]. One page max, one analogy, no technical terms [S]."

✉️

Professional email

Drafting communication that sounds like you, not like a robot.

"Act as my writing assistant [F]. Draft a follow-up email after a difficult parent meeting [O], where I suggested the student needs additional support but the parent pushed back [C], for a parent who communicates formally and was defensive [U]. Under 120 words, calm and collaborative, no blame language [S]."

🔍

Research summary

Condensing complex material into something actually usable.

"Act as a research analyst [F]. Summarize the key findings on AI bias in hiring algorithms [O] from an academic perspective [C], for a school board that has no technical background but strong concern for equity [U]. 5 bullet points max, plain language, include one specific example [S]."

💻

Coding help

Getting code that actually fits your project.

"Act as a senior Python developer [F]. Write a function that parses a CSV and returns rows where sales exceed a threshold [O]. The project uses pandas and targets Python 3.10+ [C]. For a developer who knows Python basics but is new to pandas [U]. Include type hints, docstring, no external dependencies beyond pandas [S]."

🎨

Creative writing

Getting creative output with real direction instead of generic results.

"Act as a short story editor [F]. Write an opening paragraph for a story about a girl who discovers her grandmother was an early AI researcher [O], set in 1968 [C], for young adult readers aged 14–18 who enjoy mystery and family stories [U]. 100 words, third person, start with action not description [S]."

📊

Grant writing

Framing a proposal for a specific funder's priorities.

"Act as a nonprofit grant writer [F]. Write the problem statement section [O] for an AI literacy program for rural K-12 students, highlighting the equity gap in technology access [C], for a foundation focused on education equity in underserved communities [U]. 250 words max, evidence-based, compelling but not emotional manipulation [S]."

Quick Reference Card

Print this. Put it next to your computer. Use it every time you open an AI tool.

Function

What do you want the AI to do?

Objective

What is the actual goal?

Context

What background matters?

User

Who is the audience?

Specifics

What format and constraints?

See example prompts → Learn the READY framework

Want updates when new freebies drop?

One quick email when something new lands. No spam. Unsubscribe any time.