Self-study session
Run the learning loop on your own: pick a mode, explain it back, pass the mastery check.
Use this page to run a study session on a topic by yourself, in the same steps a live session with a tutor would follow. One session takes about 45–60 minutes. Each topic needs one or two of them.
Prefer a live session?
In Claude Code, say "Let's do Topic N". The session starts by asking which study mode you want, then follows the steps below with you.
The loop
1 · Pick a mode (1 minute)
Ask yourself how you want to learn right now, then click that tab on the topic page. The tab you pick stays selected on every page. Switching modes is fine, and often helps when something isn't clicking.
| If you feel… | Pick |
|---|---|
| "I need to see it" | Visual |
| "Show me one done properly first" | Worked example |
| "Let me figure it out with nudges" | Guided questions |
| "Just explain it, then test me" | Explanation & drill |
2 · Learn it (15 minutes)
Read the analogy and the key rules, then work through your chosen tab. Open hints only after two honest minutes of trying.
3 · Trace by hand (10 minutes)
On paper, redo the topic's example with your own numbers: a new array, a new , a new recurrence. Don't copy the page. If the topic has a See it move link, check your trace against the animation.
4 · Explain it back (10 minutes): the most important step
Close the page. Out loud, or written in 5–8 sentences, answer:
- One sentence: what does this idea or algorithm do?
- Analogy: describe it in everyday terms. Your own analogy is better than the page's.
- Steps: walk through your hand trace from step 3 and say why each step happens.
- Why it's right / how fast: the invariant, the proof idea, or where the Θ comes from.
- Trap: one mistake a beginner would make here, and how to avoid it.
If you got stuck on a prompt, that part isn't learned yet. Reopen the page on just that part, then try again.
5 · Drill (10 minutes)
Do the drill or guided questions from a tab you didn't use in step 2, so you see the idea from a second angle. Mark them with the hidden answers.
6 · Mastery check (5–10 minutes)
Do the topic's Mastery check with no notes and no hints, then explain your answer using the step 4 prompts.
- Solved and explained it? Tick all six steps in the Your mastery check card at the bottom of the topic page, then set it to Mastered and pick the mode that worked. It is saved in your browser and shows on My progress.
- Not quite? Leave it In progress, add the mistake to your log on My progress (what I did → why → fix), and next session try a different mode first.
After every session (2 minutes)
- Check My progress, and export a backup now and then (it lives only in this browser).
- Add anything you had to look up twice to your own copy of the Cheatsheet.
- Flip the Flashcards for that topic (for example
T4), or study them in Anki by tag (tag:t4).
Rules that keep it honest
- Draft notes are not mastery. A topic is ✅ only after a no-hint mastery check and an explanation in your own words.
- For assignments, use the pages for hints and ideas only. Write your own solution.