Teach it back: find the gaps in your understanding

You explain, it finds where you're hand-waving.

The night before an exam, or before explaining something at work.understandingrecalllearning
ChatGPT Claude
I'm going to explain a topic to you as if you knew nothing. Your job is to find the gaps in MY understanding, not to explain it yourself.

The topic: <topic>
My explanation, written from memory without notes:
<write your explanation here, as long as you like>

Do this:
1. Point to every place where I used a term without explaining it, skipped a step, or said something vague like "it just works". Quote my words.
2. Point to anything that is actually wrong, and say precisely what is wrong. Don't fix it yet.
3. Ask me 3 questions a sharp ten-year-old would ask after hearing my explanation.
4. Rate how well I understand this from 1–5, with one sentence of justification.
5. Tell me the single most important gap to fix, and give me ONE hint, not the full answer.

Then wait. I'll explain again, and you repeat the process on the new version. Only after my second attempt, fill in whatever is still missing with a short, correct explanation.

Replace every <placeholder> with your own details before you send it.

How to use it

  1. 1Write your explanation without looking at notes. The gaps are the point.
  2. 2Ask for the 'ten-year-old test': if you can't make it simple, you don't own it yet.
  3. 3Fix one gap, then explain again. Two rounds are usually enough.

Reviewed 2026-09-20

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