Test Understanding by Teaching a Beginner
Added 2026-11-01
If you cannot explain it simply, you do not understand it yet. Record the explanation and find the sentence you stumble on.
I am learning a concept. Do: 1) give a three-minute explanation structure for a complete beginner — what problem it solves, how it works, when it does not apply; 2) list the three follow-up questions a beginner would most likely ask; 3) point out the two places I am most likely to gloss over; 4) design a self-test: explain it from memory while recording, then replay and spot the stumbles; 5) say which kind of knowledge to revisit when I stall on a particular sentence.
Site original
Chinese original
How to use
能讲清楚，才算学会；卡住的那句就是缺口。
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.