“Rabbi, teach me something new”

Question

Throughout the Talmud* there are launch-pad stories of sages being asked by their students and even their peers to teach them something they've never been taught before or else something that was taught to them by an even greater sage.

My question is, was this a (relatively) short-lived trend during the period of the Talmud; were these stories made up to serve as launch-pads for the series of Halachoth that follow; or has this been a tradition throughout history (or at least periods of history)?

In short, are there writings of rabbis throughout history responding to similar questions?

_{*(For an example of the latter: Bab. Shab. 138b)}

Answer 1

I don't think there is an proper answer but this is what I think. Talmud = Oral law and as such it was forbidden to even write it down or compile it with laws and traditions being handed down from teacher to student . Therefore it makes sense that in the Talmud you find this type of structure since that was the primary way of gaining knowledge and accessing earlier traditions.