Ask the “dumb” question. Half the room was confused and waiting for somebody brave.

Confusion in a room is usually shared and silently held, because everyone assumes they are the only one lost and would rather stay quiet than look slow. So a whole class nods along and nobody learns the thing. The question you are embarrassed about is almost always the one that unlocks it for a dozen people at once.

Ask it once this week, plainly, with no long apology in front of it. Watch how many people lean in when you do. Two awkward seconds buy you the rest of the unit.