What is Teach the AI?

Teach the AI is a writing activity that flips the usual roles: instead of asking an AI for answers, you are the teacher. You'll explain a concept to an AI that acts like a curious peer who only partly understands the topic. It will ask you questions and sometimes repeat ideas back incorrectly, and your job is to correct it and build its understanding through clear, accurate explanation.

The idea is simple: one of the best ways to prove you understand something is to teach it to someone else. As you explain, you'll notice where your own understanding is solid and where it needs work, which is exactly the point.

You'll move through three steps: Plan your explanation, Explain and respond, and Review and submit.

Step 1: Plan Your Explanation

Before you start teaching, you'll see everything you need to prepare:

• Topic and Learning Objectives so you know what concept you're teaching and what you're expected to demonstrate.
• What to Cover, a list of the key ideas your explanation should include.
• Rubric, which shows how your work will be evaluated. Click View Full Rubric to see the full breakdown.

You'll then fill in two required planning fields:

1. Outline: What key ideas will you cover, and where might someone get confused?
2. Examples: What examples, key terms, or relationships matter most for this concept?

Important: Once you click Start Teaching, your planning notes lock and can no longer be edited. Take your time here. Think through your explanation, jot down the examples and terms you want to use, and make sure your outline is complete before you begin. These will be available for your reference during the conversation.

Step 2: Explain and Respond

When you're ready, click Start Teaching to open the chat. The AI will start the conversation by asking you a question. Type your explanation in the "Explain something to the AI…" box, or use the voice input option if you'd rather speak your response.

A few things to keep in mind as you teach:

• You have 15 turns, so be efficient with your language. A live counter (for example, "2/15 turns") tracks your progress, and each message you send uses one turn. Look at the What to Cover list and aim to address all of the concepts within your 15 turns. You're in control of the conversation, so it's up to you to direct the AI and make sure every concept gets covered. Don't wait to be asked. Make each response clear and complete rather than sending short, partial replies.
• The AI learns from exactly what you say. It will mirror your explanations back, including any mistakes. If you repeat a misconception or explain something sloppily, the AI will "learn" it that way, and it will show up flagged when you review your work. Be precise and accurate in every response.
• Use the side panel for reference. The right-hand panel has two tabs:
  • Prompt: Your learning objectives and rubric.
  • Notes: Your locked planning notes, plus a reading passage and a key-terms glossary to help you stay accurate.

At any point, you can select Review Your Work ("Do you feel like you've covered all the concepts?") to check your progress. This takes you to the review screen without ending the activity, so you can always come back and keep teaching.

Step 3: Review and Submit

The review screen shows two things:

• Conversation Transcript: The full record of your teaching conversation.
• Concept Map: Each learning objective and sub-concept is tagged based on how well you explained it (for example, Clearly Explained or Misunderstood). Expand any concept to see the Objective, an assessment Note, and quoted Evidence pulled directly from your own messages. If there are several pieces of evidence, you can page through them.

Use the Concept Map to spot anything marked as misunderstood, then click Continue Teaching to go back and clear up those concepts. You can keep teaching until you've reached mastery, even if you've already used all 15 turns. Any turns you take beyond the first 15 will be made visible to your instructor, so keep going if you need to, and aim to work efficiently within your original 15. When you're satisfied with your explanation, click Submit.

Quick Reflection

After you click Submit, you'll see a Quick Reflection prompt: a short-answer question (one or two sentences) about how your teaching conversation went. If the question doesn't feel like the right fit, click Shuffle to get a different one. You can answer it or choose Skip, then submit.

After You Submit

Once your work is in, you'll land on a confirmation screen ("You've submitted your work!") with the time of your submission. Your grade will appear here after your instructor grades your work.

You can still make changes until your instructor begins grading:

• Edit Submission lets you return to the activity and use any remaining turns.
• Edit Reflection lets you update your reflection answer.

Your Submission, Concept Map, and Notes all stay available as tabs, so you can revisit your conversation and your feedback at any time.

Tips for a Strong Teaching Session

• Plan thoroughly. Your notes lock when you start, so get your outline and examples right first.
• Be precise. The AI learns exactly what you teach it, mistakes included. Say what you mean, and check your accuracy as you go.
• Explain, don't just answer. Treat each of your 15 turns as a chance to teach clearly, using examples and connecting ideas. Stay in control of the conversation and steer it toward the concepts you still need to cover.
• Check the Concept Map before submitting. It shows you exactly where the AI understood you and where it didn't, so you can fix any gaps. You can keep teaching until you reach mastery, but turns beyond your first 15 are visible to your instructor, so aim to cover everything within your original 15.

Have questions?

If you need technical assistance or have questions about your Teach the AI assignment, please reach out to our Support Team at help@packback.co.