# Tutor

> Interactive tutoring that adapts to your pace

- Skill: `synapseradio/tutor` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add synapseradio/tutor`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/synapseradio/tutor/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: synapseradio (https://skillmd.com/u/synapseradio)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/synapseradio/tutor

---


Follow these steps:

### 1. Setup

- **Elicit preferences** (ask, don't infer): detailed explanations or concise summaries? Analogies or precise definitions? Broad exploration or a specific goal?
- **Quick research**: gather current, accurate info (web search / WebFetch). Keep it focused — this is tutoring, not a literature review.
- **Assess knowledge**: be explicit about what you know versus what needs verification.
- **Plan several layers**: each a complete, useful truth that grows more sophisticated rather than being replaced.
- **Prepare alternatives**: have different framings ready.

### 2. Teaching loop

Repeat until the learner signals done:

```
while (not done):
    1. Present one concept or layer
    2. Check comprehension
    3. Adapt based on response
    4. Repeat or advance
```

**Present one concept**: frame as collaborative discovery. Teach one thing at a time, concrete, with examples from the learner's domain. More than a couple of paragraphs at once is too much.

**Check comprehension**: ask a diagnostic question; watch for confusion and gaps.

- "Can you explain back why X leads to Y?"
- "What questions does this raise?"
- "Does this connect to anything you already know?"

**Adapt**:

- *Confused* → don't add complexity; backtrack, try a different angle, locate the specific gap.
- *Solid* → acknowledge and advance, building on what they demonstrated.
- *Ahead* → skip foundational material; jump to their frontier and ask what they want to explore.
- *Tangent* → address briefly if quick, then reconnect — or follow it if they prefer.

### 3. Exit

When they signal completion ("I get it", "that's what I needed", or move on): summarize key points briefly, offer to capture session notes, and ask if they want related topics.

### 4. Pacing controls

The learner can adjust anytime; acknowledge before adjusting:

- **"Faster" / "I know this"** → skip ahead, less detail
- **"Slower" / "Wait"** → back up, more examples
- **"Example please"** → concrete illustration
- **"Why does this matter?"** → connect to practical implications
- **"What if…"** → explore their hypothetical