Guided labs bring step-by-step math and science coaching to MAPLE

The new guided lab mode breaks a prompt into short checkpoints: define the problem, sketch a plan, test a first pass, and reflect on what changed. Instead of dropping a finished answer into the chat, MAPLE keeps students moving through the reasoning process.

For teachers, that means fewer dead-end moments and more visibility into where a learner needs help. For students, it means the system feels more like a coach and less like a search box.

Teams can now publish reusable lab templates for algebra, chemistry, physics, and data literacy. Each template can include scaffolding prompts, rubric reminders, and short reflection moments at the end of a session.

Schools testing the feature told us the biggest benefit was not speed. It was persistence: students were willing to try a second and third attempt because the workflow felt guided rather than graded.

Over the next quarter we are extending guided labs to group activities, allowing classmates to compare approaches while preserving individual thinking time. We are also adding multilingual lab prompts for international campuses.