De docent zegt dat een recept net als een grammatica-oefening stap voor stap te begrijpen is.

Dat means that and introduces a subordinate clause:

• De docent zegt = The teacher says
• dat ... = that ...

So the sentence structure is:

• main clause: De docent zegt
• subordinate clause: dat een recept net als een grammatica-oefening stap voor stap te begrijpen is

In Dutch, once dat introduces a subordinate clause, the verb placement changes.

That is standard Dutch subordinate-clause word order.

In a main clause, the finite verb usually comes in second position:

• De docent zegt ...

But in a clause introduced by dat, the finite verb moves toward the end:

• ... dat een recept ... te begrijpen is

The finite verb here is is.
So compared with English, Dutch often pushes the verb to the end in dat-clauses.

Because this is a subordinate clause, Dutch normally places the verb group at the end, and with te + infinitive, the infinitive part often comes before the finite verb:

• ... te begrijpen is

This is a very natural order in formal or neutral Dutch.

You may also sometimes encounter other orders in spoken or less formal Dutch, but for learners, it is best to understand:

• subordinate clause → verb material at the end
• te begrijpen is = natural here

Te begrijpen literally means to understand, but in this structure it has the sense of:

• can be understood
• is understandable
• is possible to understand

So:

• stap voor stap te begrijpen is
  means something like
• can be understood step by step

This is a common Dutch pattern:

• is te zien = can be seen
• is te doen = can be done
• is te begrijpen = can be understood

Net als means just like or just as.

Here it connects two things being compared:

• een recept
• een grammatica-oefening

So the sentence says that a recipe, just like a grammar exercise, can be understood step by step.

It is a very common comparison phrase in Dutch.

Sometimes yes, but net als is especially common when comparing one noun with another noun.

Here we are comparing:

• een recept
• een grammatica-oefening

So net als is very natural.

A rough guide:

• net als = just like
• zoals = like / as / such as, depending on context

In this sentence, net als sounds especially appropriate.

Stap voor stap means step by step.

This repetition is fixed idiomatic Dutch, just as in English:

• step by step
• day by day
• bit by bit

So you should learn stap voor stap as a set expression.

Dutch nouns take either de or het as their definite article.

• de docent = the teacher
• het recept = the recipe

But in your sentence, recept appears with the indefinite article een:

• een recept = a recipe

So this sentence does not show you the definite article of recept, but it is actually:

• het recept
• een recept

Meanwhile:

• de docent
• een docent

This is something you often just have to learn with each noun.

Dutch often forms compound nouns by joining words together. Sometimes a hyphen is used for clarity, especially when the first part is a longer word or when the combination would be harder to read without it.

So:

• grammatica-oefening = grammar exercise

Without the hyphen, grammaticaoefening would still be understandable, but the hyphen makes it easier to read.

They are similar, but not always identical.

• docent often means teacher/lecturer, especially in more formal or educational contexts
• leraar usually means teacher, often especially at school

In many sentences they can both translate as teacher, but docent can sound a bit more formal or academic.

Because the sentence compares a recipe with a grammar exercise in a general way.

Dutch often uses the singular with een when talking about something as a type or example:

• een recept = a recipe, as a kind of thing
• een grammatica-oefening = a grammar exercise, as a kind of thing

English does this too:

• A recipe, like a grammar exercise, can be understood step by step.

So the singular is perfectly natural here.

They are close, but not exactly identical.

• begrijpelijk is = is understandable
• te begrijpen is = can be understood / is understandable

In many contexts they overlap. But te begrijpen often emphasizes the idea that understanding is possible, while begrijpelijk is more directly an adjective.

So in this sentence:

• stap voor stap te begrijpen is

suggests that if you go through it step by step, understanding it is possible.

A useful breakdown is:

• De docent zegt
  = The teacher says

• dat
  = that

• een recept
  = a recipe

• net als een grammatica-oefening
  = just like a grammar exercise

• stap voor stap
  = step by step

• te begrijpen is
  = can be understood / is understandable

So the full structure is:

• The teacher says [that a recipe, just like a grammar exercise, can be understood step by step].

That is a good example of Dutch subordinate-clause word order plus a comparison phrase.