Don't ask for the answer.
Ask for the next move that makes you think.
Fourteen better asks that keep AI in the tutor role: different explanations, hints, gap-finding, challenge, and transfer, without handing it the thinking.
1
Ask for a move
Request the next action that makes you retrieve, explain, or decide, not the finished answer.
2
Stay in the attempt
Hints, gaps, and critiques only land after you have written something of your own.
3
Name the method
Borrow corpus moves (A5, B1, C1…) so the ask has a known learning job.
4
Close the loop
Restate, re-test, or transfer before you leave the chat.
Explain differently
Explain this again with a different analogy. Stop if the analogy breaks. (A5, A6)
Show me how
Show how someone good at this would think through it, step by step. Then hide the answer and make me try. (A8, I11)
Break it down
Chunk this into named stages I can recite from memory. (A13)
Give a hint
Don't tell me the answer. Give me one hint, then wait. (A2)
Find my gap
I'll write what I remember. Tell me what's missing that actually matters. (B1)
Probe my thinking
Ask one question at a time. When I'm vague, ask what I mean. (C1)
Challenge me
Argue the strongest case against my conclusion. (C4)
Argue the other side
Make the best case for the view I reject. Then make me respond. (C5)
Put me in the situation
Role-play the examiner, client, or historical actor. Stay in character. (D7, D9)
Connect the dots
Map what this depends on, and what depends on it. (A22)
Show expert thinking
Label the decision points in a worked example, not just the algebra. (A8, I11)
Make me apply it
Give me a near variant, then a far one in unfamiliar dress. (B5, B6)
Test me
Closed-book quiz in my exam format. No answers until I finish. (B18)
Go deeper
Keep asking why until we hit bedrock or I fail. That failure is useful. (C15)