Can Perplexity’s Deep Research Help Teachers Design Better Student-Centered Instruction?
Two weeks back, I wrote about OpenAI’s Deep Research and what it means for educators. Now, Perplexity has introduced its own version of Deep Research, and unlike OpenAI’s, it’s free. That alone makes it worth exploring.
If you’ve used Perplexity, you know it doesn’t just generate quick answers—it retrieves, organizes, and synthesizes research-backed insights. In that sense, it’s different from popular AI tools that churn out formulaic lesson plans, worksheets, or quizzes.
I decided to test Perplexity’s Deep Research ability to design student-centered activities for a high school social studies unit on the U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court decisions. This is a core topic in American history and civics, and it lends itself well to inquiry-based learning, and document analysis—precisely the kind of instruction that AI could support.
In all, what I found was promising. While Perplexity is less streamlined like popular AI platforms such as MagicSchool or Brisk Teaching, it curates and synthesizes research-backed instructional strategies. That makes it a valuable tool for teachers looking to integrate AI thoughtfully into student-centered learning.
What is Perplexity’s Deep Research?
Perplexity’s Deep Research feature is designed to go beyond simple AI-generated responses by retrieving relevant academic articles, policy papers, and expert insights. Unlike ChatGPT, which generates conversational text, Perplexity provides cross-referenced insights, and a structured synthesis of key themes.
Key Features that Support Instructional Design
AI-Powered Thematic Synthesis – Organizes research findings into meaningful instructional categories.
Credible, Cited Sources – Every response includes verifiable references, making it useful for evidence-based teaching.
Comparative Analysis – Helps educators examine differing viewpoints in research studies, a key component of student-centered instruction.
With these capabilities, Perplexity enables educators to develop research-backed instructional frameworks, rather than simply generating static activities.
Deep Research is currently accessible to all. Those with free Perplexity accounts are allotted up to five queries per day, while Pro users ($20/mo) are allotted up to 500 queries daily. Deep Research is currently only available on the web, but Perplexity AI plans to make it available on iOS, Android, and Mac platforms.
Using Perplexity’s Deep Research to Build a Student-Centered Supreme Court Activities
To test Perplexity, I used it to suggest student activities for a unit on the U.S. Constitution and landmark Supreme Court cases for 10th-grade social studies. My goal was to:
Buttress the unit with student-centered teaching methods.
Integrate AI and digital tools to enhance historical inquiry.
Encourage critical thinking, discussion, and document analysis rather than passive content consumption.
Step 1: Running an Inquiry in Perplexity’s Deep Research
I started by asking a couple of questions:
“What are the most effective student-centered strategies for teaching the U.S. Constitution in high school?”
“How can AI and technology be used to support document-based inquiry in social studies?”
Perplexity laid out its research plan one-at-a-time for both questions and I patiently waited for the results:
Within a few minutes, Perplexity retrieved and synthesized findings from academic research, government reports, and civic education organizations. The responses weren’t just lists of resources—they were structured summaries with instructional recommendations.
If I had done a Google search, I’d get a mix of blog posts, opinion pieces, and scattered resources—some useful, many not. If I’d used a database like JSTOR, I’d find rigorous academic studies, but it would take hours to filter through articles and synthesize key themes.
Step 2: Reviewing the Research Themes
Here’s what Perplexity’s Deep Research surfaced as best practices for teaching the Constitution:
Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) – Encouraging students to investigate constitutional questions and interpret Supreme Court rulings.
Case-Based Learning – Engaging students in mock trials, debates, and case studies of landmark Supreme Court decisions.
Primary Source Analysis – Using AI-powered tools to analyze Federalist Papers, Supreme Court opinions, and historical documents.
Technology-Enhanced Inquiry – Leveraging AI tools for document analysis, argument construction, and legal reasoning exercises.
No big surprise here, as these are relatively common approaches. But here is what Perplexity adds to these methods:
For Case-Based Learning, Perplexity identified lesser-known legal precedents that could broaden classroom debates.
For Primary Source Analysis, it surfaced multi-perspective historical interpretations, helping students trace constitutional interpretations over time.
For Inquiry-Based Learning, it suggested student-driven questions like:
How has the interpretation of the Fourth Amendment evolved?
What constitutional arguments were made in favor of and against landmark Supreme Court rulings?
Here is a sample of its recommendations:
I totally agree with this recommendation, and have conducted this simulation activity with students in years past. I was especially pleased that Perplexity identified a case with a school-centered issue:
I was intrigued by Perplexity’s inclusion of New Jersey v T.L.O because the case applies to the conduct of public school officials - a topic likely to pique student interest.
Keep in mind that Perplexity’s AI can also be used to track how Supreme Court decisions are framed in different media outlets. For example, students can compare how conservative vs. liberal news sources cover recent rulings, then use AI tools to identify patterns in argument construction.
AI Entry Points for Teaching the Constitution
One of my goals was to identify ways AI could facilitate student-centered learning.
Here is a Perplexity recommendation:
I am a huge proponent of iCivics for social studies simulations and was happy with this recommendation, but I would have liked more specific recommendations of iCivics resources.
Here is another:
I appreciate that Perplexity explicitly connects these tech-oriented activities and Common Core standards for digital literacy. Yet, the recommendation is somewhat outdated, since Flipgrid no longer exists (and TikTok may not be available much longer).
Here is another:
I was unaware of Primary Source Analyzer and was happy to learn about it. Yet, its creator is yeschat an AI platform primarily designed “to power AI chat, music, video, and image generation.” As such, I question its credibility and relevance for this academic exercise.
The idea of interactive role play is certainly not news to me, but I had never that of engaging with a King George III simulation to discuss the 1763 Royal Proclamations.
There were other tech-oriented suggestions, such as:
Khan Academy’s Student-Led Curriculum
“The National Constitution Center’s partnership with Khan Academy offers a self-paced online course featuring video lectures by constitutional scholars, interactive quizzes, and primary source analyses. debates on contemporary issues linked to the Constitution, assigning small groups to dissect specific amendments promotes collaborative learning…”
This prompted me to explore interviews with constitutional scholars to talk about the Articles of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and several prominent Supreme Court cases.
Social Media Simulations
“Creating fictional social media profiles for constitutional figures or concepts—such as “@JamesMadison” or “@BillOfRights”—engages digitally native students. A profile for the Fourth Amendment might post updates about recent privacy cases, while a “Constitution Day” hashtag could curate student reflections on constitutional values.”
I had created something similar with my students many years ago, creating fake Facebook profiles within a “walled garden” network. I would find doing so much more problematic today; much less vigilance and administrative oversight was involved in undertaking this exercise 18 years ago.
Sources
While I was pleased overall with the suggested activities, I was underwhelmed by the sources of these activities:
I find its source selection can be hit-or-miss when it comes to credibility. For example, some recommendations came from respected educational sources like Inside Higher Ed and eschoolnews, which provide insights into edtech trends, pedagogy, and policy changes. However, other sources—such as yeschat and eself—are not academic sources and may lack the rigor or credibility that educators require for research-backed instructional design.
In traditional academic research, teachers rely on peer-reviewed journals, primary sources, and recognized educational institutions to guide their instruction. AI-powered tools, however, sometimes pull from a mix of high-quality, mid-tier, and less reliable sources, which means teachers still need to verify the credibility of AI-generated recommendations.
Perplexity Deep Research is certainly a step above (free) ChatGPT. For one, Perplexity provides cited sources, making it easier for teachers and students to cross-check facts—critical in social studies, history, and science. Furthermore, Perplexity curates research so students can engage in evidence-based analysis and many teachers emphasize skills like source evaluation and research integrity that Perplexity directly supports.
Final Thoughts
Unlike AI lesson plan generators, Perplexity doesn’t just tell teachers what to do—it provides the research foundations to make pedagogically sound decisions. That distinction is what makes it a valuable tool for instruction.
In all, I was pleased with the recommended activities. That said, Perplexity Deep Research won’t replace the need for good teaching, strong pedagogy, and critical thinking. What it can do, however, is help teachers design more effective, research-driven instruction without spending hours buried in academic reports.
If you’ve tried Perplexity’s Deep Research, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you found it useful? How are you using AI to support research-based instruction? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
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I love Perplexity, it’s great