How I Learn (2026 Version) • My Tutor Agent
…and you'll be able to see my new system at work with two new sections here on The Python Coding Stack
I know how I like to learn new things. Over the years, I figured out what works for me and what doesn’t. If you read my articles or attend my courses, then you know how I like to learn since I teach in the same way.
The challenge when learning something new is finding resources that are just right for me. And that’s not easy. I know I can learn things better and quicker with resources that fit my style well, but you can’t always find these resources.
I recently got particularly annoyed learning about the biomechanics of sprinting – I do have non-Python interests, yes – because all three textbooks I read, and lots of the online writing in this field, are just, let’s say, not great.
But I now found the solution.
After many decades of learning in the same way, I have now upgraded how I learn thanks to my new tutor, Priya.
Yes, I gave her a name. No, she’s not a real person. Priya is my personalised tutor agent. I’ll tell you all about her below.
And you’ll experience her teaching, too (not on the Python articles, though, I’ll keep writing those the old-fashioned way.) I’ll tell you more about this below, too, but let me first tell you why this works for me.
My Tutor, My Style
I’ve been thinking about the way I learn and teach for many years, from way back when I was a young University lecturer faced with 120 students in a lecture hall. I wasn’t that much older than the students, but I learnt fast. And they liked my teaching (I even have awards to prove it!)
More recently, I’ve been writing a lot. I wrote articles here on The Python Coding Stack and elsewhere. I wrote a Python textbook. I even wrote about learning and technical writing in Breaking the Rules: the substack and the book.
All this meant that I could ask my freshly-spawned agent to spend a bit of time reading what I wrote to understand how I teach, which is how I like to learn. Priya analysed the techniques I use in my writing and understood my motivations for doing what I do through my technical writing texts.
Then, Priya and I had a good chat to refine ideas, to make sure she captured the essence of “my style”.
And since Priya is an AI agent, “my style” became her knowledge base. This knowledge now lives in several lengthy markdown files and is summarised in shorter context packs and an index to ensure Priya’s short-term memory (the context window) isn’t overwhelmed.
Then I was ready to go. Any topic I wanted to learn, large or small, I could ask Priya to research it thoroughly, creating a new set of knowledge files, this time specific to the topic she needed to teach rather than my learning style. And then, she’s ready to teach me.
And it worked. The stuff she prepared was exactly the way I like it.
The Tutor-Student Conversation Course
And here’s the format I settled on (for now). Once the agent completes her research about the topic I want to learn, I ask her to plan a course spanning several modules.
But here’s the refinement loop that makes the real difference:
I ask Priya to draft the first module. She writes this in a markdown file.
I read through her draft and leave comments and questions directly within the text.
Priya reads my questions and revises the text to address my questions. (But read on to find out more about the two categories of comments/questions I leave for her.)
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until I feel I understand the topic.
Move on to the next module and repeat steps 1 to 4.
This is a human-in-the-loop approach to creating the learning material. Yes, Priya is trained in my way of learning and teaching and in my writing style. But I’m actively having a conversation with her within the text.
This is equivalent to raising your hand in a lesson and asking the teacher a question. A good teacher will then revise how they present the material to address your question.
Priya’s learning materials are just like that. In fact, I will take credit for her output. Sure, I’m not an expert in the subject matter she’s teaching me – that’s the whole point, right? But the output reflects my views and ideas about teaching and includes my questions and queries as I tried to understand and master the topic.
This is a collaboration. Priya and I are co-authors, even though Priya did most of the “writing”.
I tried this approach on several topics, but there are two I want to share with you. I’m setting up two new sections here on The Python Coding Stack, which I’ll use to learn these two topics in public. I’ll publish the “transcripts” of the conversations Priya and I are having. It’s mostly Priya doing the talking, but my questions are there, too.
The first topic I’m learning in public with Priya’s help is Agentic AI. It’s very meta to use agentic AI to learn about agentic AI! I’ll publish an introduction and the first module in the coming days in the new section here on The Python Coding Stack called Agents Unpacked. You can already see this section in the menu on the homepage.
I’ll set up another section to deal with the second topic in a week or so. No spoilers for now except to say it’s directly related to programming but it’s distinct from the articles I publish in the main section on The Python Coding Stack and in The Club.
By the way, you’ll be able to select which sections you want to receive regularly by email. So if you’re interested in my Python core content but not in these other topics, you can pick and choose what to opt out of. You can always go to The Python Coding Stack to read the other sections, of course.
How Priya and I Create These “Courses”
But let me expand on how Priya – my tutor agent – and I created these courses. [Incidentally, those are my em-dashes – I use them often and have always done. Commas would be ambiguous in that context!]
I provide two types of questions or comments to my agent as I read through the drafts: private and public.
Private Questions and Comments
When Priya reads the private questions or comments, she makes changes to the text, but then she deletes my input. So, you won’t see my intervention explicitly in these cases. However, Priya’s text reflects my thoughts. My interventions guide Priya. This type of intervention is similar to an editor’s role, but I’m intervening as a learner more than as an editor.
Public Questions and Comments
However, when Priya comes across a comment or question I mark as public, she leaves it in the text, acknowledges the question, and answers it directly. So, you’ll see my public questions in the text. Priya and I decided not to include too many of these public questions to keep the text flowing. However, I think it’s beneficial to see some of my interventions. My questions may also be your questions.
More Learning. More Articles. More Fun
As with everything to do with AI, this is all very new. It’s a work in progress. I may refine and revise how I interact with my agent. But it’s been fun learning this way, and I hope you enjoy reading my interactions with Priya and you find it useful, too.
To state the obvious, the posts I’ll publish in these two new sections are mostly AI-generated content. If you read this far, then you won’t be surprised by that statement. A year ago, I would never have thought I’d publish anything written by AI. But a year is a long time in the AI world. And this AI content reflects me and my thinking. The agent is my mentee – someone I trained to teach the way I do, to write the way I do. But she’s also my tutor, teaching me new stuff.
So there’s a lot of “me” in what you read, even if it’s mostly written by Priya!
The posts in the main section of The Python Coding Place and those in The Club (for premium subscribers) won’t change. They’re still my writing from beginning to end. Every word and letter you read in those posts is the result of nerve signals going from my brain to my fingers, which tap keys on a keyboard. In this era of AI doing a lot of work for us, I think it’s more important than ever for me to keep using my pre-AI skills. Otherwise, my brain will atrophy, and I don’t want that!
So, in summary, there will soon be four sections here on The Stack:
The main area in The Python Coding Stack – no change here, you’ll get the same type of Python articles you’ve been reading for the past 3+ years
The Club – the extra Python posts for premium subscribers
Agents Unpacked – the Agentic AI course Priya and I are creating for me to learn all about this agentic stuff. Learn with me (and Priya) if you’re interested.
Mystery Fourth Section – Stay tuned, you won’t have to wait long. This is also a Priya-Stephen collaboration.
Next post will be the introduction and first section in Agents Unpacked. Soon after, I have another Python post I’m planning for you.
