There's a growing and well-deserved focus on Science of Learning in schools right now. Educators are thinking more carefully than ever about how students learn, what the research actually says, and how to translate that into everyday classroom practice. Spaced retrieval. Interleaving. Explicit instruction. Low-stakes testing. The evidence base is compelling and the conversations happening in staffrooms are genuinely exciting.
And then someone mentions devices, and the energy in the room shifts.
It's understandable. A lot of what the Science of Learning points us towards feels, on the surface, like it sits in tension with technology. Minimising distraction. Reducing cognitive load. Keeping things simple and deliberate. For many teachers, iPad and Mac have come to represent the opposite of that, something open-ended, hard to control, and difficult to connect to structured, evidence-informed instruction.
I'd like to gently challenge that thinking.
Introducing the Science of Learning Sidekick
The Science of Learning Sidekick is part of my Apple Intelligence Sidekicks series, a collection of Apple Shortcuts built to support everyday teacher tasks using Apple Intelligence, running securely on-device.
Here's how it works. You enter your instructional approach or lesson focus, and Apple Intelligence draws on its inbuilt knowledge to surface practical, evidence-informed ideas for using iPad or Mac to support that specific type of instruction. Teaching phonics? It might suggest tools and approaches for explicit sound and letter work. Focusing on retrieval practice? It'll point you toward features and workflows that support low-stakes recall activities. The output is practical, specific, and grounded in your actual lesson context.
And because every school's focus is different, this Shortcut is designed to be customised. Tailor it to your school's Science of Learning framework, your curriculum priorities, or the specific instructional approaches your team is working on this term.
Why This Matters for Evidence-Informed Teaching
The push toward Science of Learning is not a push away from technology. It's a push toward intentionality. And intentional use of iPad and Mac, guided by research-based principles, is exactly what this Shortcut is designed to support.
For curriculum leaders and coaches, this is a practical tool for helping teachers see the connection between their instructional approach and the features already available on their devices. For classroom teachers, it's a low-friction way to bring evidence-informed digital strategies into lessons without needing to research it all yourself.
On-device processing through Apple Intelligence means everything runs securely on your device. No data leaves, no third-party platform is involved, and no subscription is required. It's already there, waiting to be used.
Watch the Science of Learning Sidekick in Action
Research-based practice is front of mind in schools right now. But translating that into practical classroom ideas, quickly, in the middle of a busy week? That's the hard part. What if your device could help you bridge that gap? Take a look.
Download the Science of Learning Sidekick Shortcut
https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/7659ba04f2b74ace86b0b31e8d2a24f0
Device Requirements
To run this Apple Shortcut you'll need a device with Apple Intelligence enabled:
- iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max, or iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max running iOS 18.1 or later
- iPad with M1 chip or later running iPadOS 18.1 or later
- Mac with Apple Silicon running macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later
Try It, Tweak It, Share It
Give the Science of Learning Sidekick a go, customise it to your school's context, and see what it surfaces for your next lesson. I'd love to hear how it shapes your thinking around devices and evidence-informed practice.
Attach up to 5 files which will be available for other members to download.