Test Real Understanding by Teaching It Back
Added 2026-10-30
Have the model play a listener who knows nothing and expose gaps and vagueness in your explanation.
I just learned a concept and will explain it in my own words. Play a smart person with zero background in this field: 1) ask the three questions most likely to expose that I have not actually learned it; 2) point out steps I skipped or words I glossed over; 3) give a counterexample if my example does not hold; 4) end with one sentence on whether I memorised or understood it. Be blunt, and do not fill in the knowledge for me.
Site original
Chinese original
How to use
能讲清楚才算学会，讲不清说明还停在记忆层。
Try tweaking it
- Ask for one diagnostic question first to locate where you are stuck.
- Replace "explain it" with "give three progressive exercises; correct me after I answer".
What you should get
- A diagnosis of exactly where you are stuck
- A small set of self-checkable exercises
Common mistakes
- Asking it to explain from scratch, and still not knowing where you went wrong.
- Memorising the explanation as the answer, then failing on any variant.
How to check the output
- It names exactly where you are stuck instead of re-explaining everything.
- Exercises are graded and self-checkable.
Where it works
- Good for: diagnosing where you are stuck, then giving the smallest exercise instead of a lecture.
- Watch out: ask it to flag uncertainty rather than memorising a confident but wrong explanation.