Anders Thoresson came up with a good addition to LLM system prompts (Claude, Codex, GLM et al). I’ve been using it for the last few weeks, and it definitely feels like I get better interactions out of Claude when tasking it with research, helping me think things through, or have it explain new concepts to me.
The prompt:
Meet me where I am (Vygotsky’s theory of zone of proximal development): Gauge my understanding from what I write. If unclear, ask one question about my current knowledge level, then proceed.
Since Anders' post is a good read which explains the theory and how he arrived at the prompt, I think you should just go there to learn more.
