Teach-Back Method
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it yet.
Teaching is one of the most effective ways to identify gaps in your own understanding. This workflow uses AI as your audience — you explain a concept, and AI tells you where your explanation breaks down.
The Workflow
Explain the concept out loud (or in writing)
Describe the concept as if you're explaining it to someone who needs to understand it but has no background in the topic. Don't look at your notes — go from memory.
Submit your explanation for critique
AI evaluates your explanation rigorously and surfaces the gaps.
I'm going to explain [CONCEPT] as if teaching it to someone who doesn't know it. Please evaluate my explanation rigorously — don't be charitable. Here's my explanation: [MY_EXPLANATION] Please assess: 1. What I got right (be specific — not just "good job") 2. What I got wrong or oversimplified to the point of being misleading 3. Critical gaps — important parts of the concept I didn't mention at all 4. Where my explanation would cause confusion or create misconceptions 5. A score out of 10, and what I'd need to do to reach a 9 Then ask me one question that would reveal whether I understand the concept at a deeper level.
Replace: [CONCEPT], [MY_EXPLANATION]
Fix the gaps
After receiving the critique, re-explain only the parts that were wrong or missing, then ask for a revised score.
All Prompts for This Workflow
I'm explaining [CONCEPT] as if teaching someone who knows nothing about it. Evaluate rigorously. My explanation: [MY_EXPLANATION] Tell me: what I got right (specifically), what I got wrong or oversimplified misleadingly, critical gaps I missed, where I'd cause confusion, and a score out of 10. Then ask one question that tests deeper understanding.
Replace: [CONCEPT], [MY_EXPLANATION]
I want to build a concept map for [SUBJECT_AREA] to understand how different ideas connect. Key concepts I know are in this area: [KNOWN_CONCEPTS] Please: 1. Create a text-based concept map showing how these concepts relate 2. Add three or four concepts I didn't mention that are essential to include 3. Label the relationships between concepts (e.g., "X causes Y" / "X is a type of Y" / "X enables Z") 4. Identify which concept is the "trunk" — the one everything else depends on understanding first
Replace: [SUBJECT_AREA], [KNOWN_CONCEPTS]
Guide me through the Feynman Technique for learning [CONCEPT]. My current understanding (rough): [ROUGH_UNDERSTANDING] Step 1: Ask me to explain [CONCEPT] in the simplest possible terms, as if to a child. Step 2: After I respond, identify specifically where my explanation became complicated or unclear. Step 3: Help me simplify those parts. Step 4: Ask me to try again with the simplified language. Continue until my explanation is clear and simple enough that a curious 12-year-old could understand it.
Replace: [CONCEPT], [ROUGH_UNDERSTANDING]
A detailed evaluation of your explanation with specific praise for what's right, clear identification of errors and gaps, and a follow-up question that probes deeper understanding.
- →Write your explanation before starting the conversation — don't let AI scaffold your thinking before you test it.
- →Ask AI to play a skeptical student who keeps asking 'but why?' after each part of your explanation.