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Tutor Suggestions

Tutor Suggestions provide AI-generated response guidance for tutors when they open discussion threads. Rather than replacing tutor responses, they help tutors craft pedagogically meaningful answers more efficiently.

How Tutor Suggestions Work​

When a tutor opens a discussion post, Iris analyzes the thread context — including the student's question, any prior replies, and related course content — and generates suggested response directions. These are not canned responses; they are tailored guidance that helps the tutor formulate a helpful reply.

What Tutors See​

Suggestion Panel​

When a tutor opens a discussion thread, Iris suggestions appear in a dedicated panel within the thread view. A status bar indicates when suggestions are being generated.

Integrated Iris Chat​

Below the suggestions, tutors can start a direct conversation with Iris to explore the topic further. This is useful for:

  • Asking follow-up questions like "What misconception might the student have?"
  • Getting deeper context on the relevant course material
  • Exploring different angles for explaining a concept

Iris may automatically regenerate suggestions based on the conversation, refining its guidance as the tutor's understanding of the student's issue evolves.

Suggestion History​

A "View history" button allows tutors to review previous suggestions generated for the same thread. This is helpful when revisiting a discussion or when multiple tutors are involved.

Pedagogical Value​

Tutor Suggestions are designed to support — not replace — the tutor's judgment. They:

  • Guide toward scaffolding — suggestions encourage tutors to ask guiding questions rather than provide direct answers
  • Surface relevant course content — Iris draws on ingested lectures and FAQs to ground suggestions in your actual materials
  • Save preparation time — tutors spend less time researching the topic and more time crafting a thoughtful response

Enabling Tutor Suggestions​

Tutor Suggestions must be enabled at two levels:

  1. System-level — your administrator must enable the feature for your Artemis instance
  2. Course-level — you must enable it in the Iris settings on your course overview page (see Enabling Iris)
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Tutor Suggestions are disabled by default and require admin activation. If you do not see the option in your course Iris settings, contact your system administrator.

Who Can See Suggestions​

Tutor Suggestions are only visible to users with the tutor role (or higher). Students never see the suggestions — they only see the tutor's actual reply. This ensures that the AI assistance remains a behind-the-scenes tool for your teaching team.

Best Practices for Tutors​

  • Use suggestions as a starting point, not a final answer. The tutor's own judgment and knowledge of the student's situation should always shape the response.
  • Engage with the Iris chat when the suggestion is not quite right. A short follow-up conversation often produces more targeted guidance.
  • Review the history when picking up a thread that another tutor started, to see what guidance was previously generated.

Next Steps​