Learning with AI

Overview

Although not strictly a workflow, learning new skills can be accelerated with AI.

AI can accelerate coding and learning, but there’s a risk it might weaken developers’ understanding of core software principles. To mitigate this risk, we have designed a learning prompt that helps developers write code efficiently whilst deepening their understanding of essential software practices.

This approach is particularly effective for:

• Learning new programming languages and technologies
• Maintaining existing services
• Understanding complex codebases

We advise adding the prompt below into the “User Rules” in Cursor or “AI Global Rules” in Windsurf. This ensures the IDE will incorporate these learning rules into every new prompt.

Why this Prompt Works

• Explains Core Concepts: Provides detailed explanations of software design patterns and engineering principles used in code generation
• Faster Learning: Delivers real-time feedback and explanations to accelerate understanding
• Diverse Solutions: Presents multiple approaches to problem-solving
• Active Engagement: Promotes critical thinking about code design choices
• Testing Knowledge: Validates understanding through targeted questions about implemented code changes

The prompt can be found here: prompt-add-coding-knowledge-teaching