The Instructions Tab helps teachers anticipate student misconceptions before assigning work, so instruction can be proactive rather than reactive. Using historical accuracy data from Magma-created problems, this feature highlights where students are most likely to struggle and how teachers can plan intentional supports ahead of time.
Why the Instructions Tab Matters
The Instructions Tab allows teachers to:
Anticipate common misconceptions before they happen by previewing the problems students historically find most challenging.
Plan instruction with intention using insights into likely errors and suggested instructional moves.
Ground planning in real student thinking through anonymized examples of authentic student work.
Support productive struggle and discussion by deciding when to intervene, what questions to ask, and which misconceptions to surface for learning.
💡 Best practice: Review the Instructions Tab before assigning work to students.
How It Works
When you open an assignment and navigate to the Instructions tab, Magma analyzes historical student data and surfaces:
Top Challenges
The three most difficult problems in the assignment, based on past correctness rates.
Common Mistakes
The most frequent error students historically make on each challenge problem.
Student Examples
Anonymized examples of real student work that show how the misconception appears in student thinking and representations.
AI Instructional Guidance
AI-generated support that:
Explains what the error is and why it commonly occurs
Suggests instructional strategies to address or prevent the misconception
Provides discussion prompts or focus areas to use with students
Using the Insights to Plan Instruction
Teachers can use the Instructions Tab to:
Preview incorrect solutions in advance
Plan checkpoints or questions during the assignment
Intentionally surface misconceptions to support discussion and sense-making
Decide when to let productive struggle happen versus when to intervene
Important Notes & Limitations
The Instructions Tab does not show your own students’ work. All examples and insights are based on anonymized historical data from other Magma users.
This feature is only available for Magma-created content. Self-created problems will not display Instructions due to a lack of historical data.