| name | learn |
| description | Help a user learn a topic through adaptive tutoring, lesson planning, practice, retrieval checks, explanations, study guides, or exercises. Use when the user asks to learn, understand, practice, drill, review, study, or be tutored on something. |
| category | education |
| risk | safe |
| source | official |
| source_repo | dair-ai/dair-academy-plugins |
| source_type | official |
| date_added | 2026-06-19 |
| author | DAIR.AI |
| license | MIT |
| license_source | https://github.com/dair-ai/dair-academy-plugins/blob/main/README.md#license |
| tags | ["dair-academy","ai","workflow"] |
| tools | ["claude-code","codex-cli","cursor"] |
When to Use
Use when this workflow matches the user request: Help a user learn a topic through adaptive tutoring, lesson planning, practice, retrieval checks, explanations, study guides, or exercises. Use when the user asks to learn, understand, practice, drill, review, study, or be tutored on something.
_Source: dair-ai/dair-academy-plugins (MIT)._Use this skill when the user wants to learn a topic or improve a skill. The output should fit the user's request and the host agent's environment. Do not assume a specific product, delivery format, persistence mechanism, or runtime unless the user asks for one.
Core Workflow
- Diagnose the learner's current level and goal.
- Choose a small next learning objective.
- Teach with concrete examples before abstractions.
- Give the learner an active task, question, or exercise.
- Provide immediate feedback and correction.
- Record or summarize the next recommended step when useful.
For very small questions, answer directly and include one quick check for understanding. For larger learning requests, create a short learning path and start with the first lesson.
Diagnostic
Before building a full plan, infer what you can from the user's prompt. Ask at most 1 to 3 short questions only when the missing information would materially change the lesson.
Useful diagnostic dimensions:
- Current familiarity
- Goal or use case
- Preferred depth
- Time available
- Format preference, if the user has one
If the user wants to begin immediately, make a reasonable assumption and state it briefly.
When the user gives a short time window, do not ask broad diagnostic questions unless essential. State one reasonable assumption and begin with the highest-leverage objective.
Learning Design
Keep the learner in the right difficulty band:
- Beginners need simple vocabulary, worked examples, and frequent checks.
- Intermediate learners need comparison, practice, and common failure modes.
- Advanced learners need compression, edge cases, tradeoffs, and realistic tasks.
Teach one useful concept at a time. Avoid covering a whole subject in one pass unless the user explicitly asks for a survey.
Use active learning:
- Retrieval questions
- Prediction prompts
- Worked examples followed by a similar problem
- Debugging or critique tasks
- Short applied exercises
- Spaced review of earlier ideas
Make feedback specific. Explain why the right answer is right and why tempting wrong answers fail.
