Learn a New Topic With ChatGPT: Two Week Learning Sprint

Prompt

Act as a learning coach for working adults who designs short, self directed learning sprints built on retrieval practice, worked examples, and spaced review rather than rereading and highlighting.

Inputs:
- The topic I want to learn and why (a work task, a decision, a hobby, a conversation I want to follow): [TopicAndReason]
- What I already know, including related subjects and any vocabulary I recognize: [StartingPoint]
- What I want to be able to do at the end, in observable terms (explain, calculate, build, choose, critique): [TargetAbility]
- Time I can spend each day and how many days: [TimeBudget]
- Materials I already have or prefer (a book, a course, documentation, videos, podcasts): [Materials]
- How I learn best and what has failed before: [LearningHistory]
- Output format: [Format]

Generate:
1. A one paragraph definition of the topic for someone at StartingPoint, followed by what the topic is NOT, so I do not wander into neighboring fields.
2. A prerequisite check: five short questions that reveal whether I am missing a foundation. For each, say what to review if I get it wrong.
3. A concept map of 8 to 12 core ideas in the order they depend on each other, with one sentence each and the two ideas beginners most often confuse.
4. A day by day sprint for TimeBudget. Each day lists: the idea to learn, one worked example to study, one problem or question to try without notes, and which earlier ideas to review that day (spaced review).
5. A daily recall quiz for the first three days: five questions each, mixed formats (explain, compare, apply), with answers kept in a separate block at the end so I can test myself first.
6. An explain-back test for the midpoint: a prompt I paste back into this chat where I explain the topic in my own words and you grade it against the concept map, pointing out gaps and wrong analogies.
7. A misconception list: the five beliefs beginners commonly hold about this topic, why each is tempting, and the correction.
8. A mini project for the last two days that proves TargetAbility, with a clear done condition.
9. A materials plan from Materials: which part of each source to use on which day. If I gave no materials, describe the kind of source to look for and tell me to verify it, without inventing titles, authors, or links.

Constraints:
- Keep each day inside TimeBudget.
- If the topic is fast moving or technical, flag which facts I should check against a current primary source.
- Do not pretend to know my progress; ask me to report quiz scores and adjust.
- No em dashes.

Instructions

Replace every [bracket] with your details before running. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

Generated Output

This image was generated using the prompt above.

Learn a New Topic With ChatGPT: Two Week Learning Sprint - Result

Examples

Example Input

TopicAndReason: How interest rates and bond prices relate. I just joined the finance team at a mid size manufacturer and my manager keeps talking about our debt refinancing and the yield curve.
StartingPoint: I know basic percentages and compound interest from school. I know what a loan is. I have heard "basis points" and "yield" but could not define them.
TargetAbility: Explain to a coworker why our bond's price fell when rates rose, and read a simple yield curve chart without guessing.
TimeBudget: 30 minutes a day, 10 working days.
Materials: Our company's last annual report and the free investing glossary from my brokerage app.
LearningHistory: I fall asleep reading textbooks. Short problems and real examples work for me.
Format: numbered sections, quiz answers at the end

Example Output

1. WHAT THIS TOPIC IS
Bond pricing is how the market value of a fixed payment loan changes when interest rates move. It is NOT stock valuation, central bank policy in depth, or derivatives. Stay on: coupon, yield, price, maturity, and the yield curve.

2. PREREQUISITE CHECK
Q1 What is 4% of $2,500? (If wrong: review percentages.)
Q2 $1,000 at 5% compounded yearly for 2 years? (If wrong: review compounding.)
Q3 What does "present value" mean in one sentence? (If unsure: Day 1 covers it.)
Q4 What is a basis point? (If unsure: Day 2 covers it.)
Q5 Which is worth more today, $100 now or $100 in a year, and why?

3. CONCEPT MAP (dependency order)
Present value -> coupon -> face value -> price -> yield to maturity -> basis points -> price and yield move opposite -> duration (sensitivity) -> maturity -> yield curve -> refinancing.
Most confused pair: coupon rate (fixed in the contract) vs yield (what a buyer earns at today's price).

4. SPRINT
Day 1: Present value. Worked example: what is $1,050 in one year worth today at 5%? Try: same at 8%. Review: none.
Day 2: Coupon, face value, basis points. Example: a $1,000 bond paying 4% yearly. Try: what is 25 basis points of 4%? Review: Day 1.
Day 3: Why price and yield move opposite. Example: an old 4% bond when new bonds pay 6%. Try: explain why no buyer pays $1,000 for it. Review: Days 1 and 2.
Day 4: Yield to maturity at a basic level. Review: Day 2.
Day 5: Explain-back test (section 6). Review: Days 1 to 4.
Day 6: Duration as sensitivity, longer vs shorter maturity. Review: Day 3.
Day 7: Yield curve: normal, flat, inverted. Review: Days 4 and 6.
Day 8: Find the debt note in the annual report: maturities and rates. Review: Day 2.
Days 9 and 10: Mini project.

5. DAILY RECALL (Day 3 sample)
1 Explain in one sentence why bond prices fall when rates rise.
2 Compare coupon rate and yield.
3 A 4% bond, new bonds pay 5%: will its price be above or below face value?
4 What is 50 basis points as a percent?
5 Apply: why might a company refinance when rates drop?

6. EXPLAIN-BACK PROMPT
"Here is my explanation of bond prices and rates: [your words]. Grade it against the concept map, list missing ideas and any wrong analogy."

7. MISCONCEPTIONS
- "The coupon changes with rates." It is fixed; the price changes.
- "A falling bond price means the company is in trouble." Often it only reflects higher market rates.
- "Higher yield means a better bond." It can also signal more risk.

8. MINI PROJECT
Write a half page note for a coworker: our debt maturities from the annual report, what a 1 point rate rise means for refinancing in plain words. Done when your manager can read it without corrections to the concepts.

9. MATERIALS
Glossary: look up coupon, yield, basis point on Days 2 to 4. Annual report: debt footnote on Day 8. Verify any rates against the report itself.

QUIZ ANSWERS
1 Old fixed payments are worth less when new bonds pay more. 3 Below. 4 0.5%.