Course Plan

Transform curriculum research into a teaching philosophy document with guiding principles.

Frontmatter

yaml

context: main
allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, AskUserQuestion

Prerequisites

•curriculum-design-research.md must exist and be complete

Instructions

You are creating the course philosophy document that will guide all subsequent curriculum development. This document bridges research findings to practical teaching decisions.

Step 1: Review Research

Read curriculum-design-research.md thoroughly, extracting:

•Recommended pedagogical approach
•Key expert insights
•Common misconceptions to address
•Visualization patterns to employ
•Specific recommendations made

Step 2: Define Course Philosophy

Articulate the overarching teaching philosophy in 2-3 paragraphs:

•What kind of learning experience should this be?
•What role does the instructor play?
•What role do students play?
•How does this course differ from typical approaches?

Step 3: Establish Guiding Principles

Create 5-7 guiding principles that will inform all content decisions:

Format for each principle:

markdown

### Principle {N}: {Short Name}

**Statement**: {One sentence capturing the principle}

**Rationale**: {Why this principle matters, cite research}

**Implications**:
- {What this means for slide design}
- {What this means for activities}
- {What this means for assessment}

Example principles:

•"Show, don't tell" - Use visualizations before explanations
•"Productive struggle" - Let students grapple before revealing answers
•"Real-world grounding" - Every concept connects to practical application
•"Misconception first" - Address what students wrongly believe
•"Iteration over perfection" - Emphasize learning from failure

Step 4: Define Learning Objectives Framework

Establish the taxonomy for objectives:

•Use Bloom's taxonomy levels appropriately
•Define what "mastery" looks like
•Establish action verbs to use

Step 5: Set Content Guidelines

Based on research, define:

•Maximum concepts per class session
•Balance of theory vs. practice
•Role of worked examples
•When to use interactive elements
•Pacing expectations

Step 6: Address Misconceptions Strategy

Document the approach for handling misconceptions:

•When to surface misconceptions explicitly
•Techniques for conceptual change
•How to validate understanding

Step 7: Create Course Plan Document

Write course-plan.md with this structure:

markdown

# Course Plan: {Course Name}

Version: 1.0
Date: {date}
Based on: curriculum-design-research.md

## Course Philosophy

{2-3 paragraphs articulating the teaching philosophy}

## Guiding Principles

### Principle 1: {Name}

**Statement**: {principle}

**Rationale**: {from research}

**Implications**:
- Slide design: {implication}
- Activities: {implication}
- Assessment: {implication}

{Repeat for 5-7 principles}

## Learning Objectives Framework

### Taxonomy

We use modified Bloom's taxonomy levels:
- **Remember**: Recall facts and basic concepts
- **Understand**: Explain ideas and concepts
- **Apply**: Use information in new situations
- **Analyze**: Draw connections and identify patterns
- **Evaluate**: Justify decisions and positions
- **Create**: Produce new work

### Objective Writing Rules

1. Start with action verb
2. Be specific and measurable
3. One objective = one skill
4. Match level to actual expectation

### Mastery Definition

{What does mastery look like in this course?}

## Content Guidelines

### Concepts Per Session

- Maximum new concepts: {N}
- Revisited concepts for reinforcement: {N}
- Total concept touches per session: {N}

### Theory/Practice Balance

- Theory introduction: {X}%
- Worked examples: {X}%
- Student practice: {X}%
- Reflection/discussion: {X}%

### Visualization Guidelines

Based on research, visualizations should:
- {guideline 1}
- {guideline 2}
- {guideline 3}

### Pacing

- New concept introduction: {time}
- Practice time: {time}
- Transition time: {time}

## Misconception Handling

### Strategy

{How will we address misconceptions?}

### Specific Misconceptions to Address

| Misconception | When to Address | Technique |
|---------------|-----------------|-----------|
| {from research} | Class {N} | {approach} |

## Assessment Philosophy

{How will we know if learning happened?}

### Formative Assessment

{ongoing checks}

### Summative Assessment

{final evaluation}

## Success Metrics

How do we know if this course is working?

1. {Metric 1}
2. {Metric 2}
3. {Metric 3}

## Instructor Notes

{Any special guidance for teaching this course}

---

*This plan was derived from curriculum-design-research.md
and should be reviewed by the instructor before proceeding.*

Step 8: Request Instructor Review

Inform the user that the course plan needs review before proceeding to syllabus creation.

Output Specification

This skill produces:

•Primary Output: course-plan.md
•Format: Markdown with structured sections
•Dependencies: Blocks syllabus-build and lesson-plan skills

Quality Criteria

A good course plan:

•Traces every principle to research evidence
•Provides specific, actionable guidelines (not vague)
•Addresses all documented misconceptions
•Defines measurable success criteria
•Is internally consistent (principles don't contradict)

Examples

Example Principle: "Productive Struggle"

markdown

### Principle 3: Productive Struggle

**Statement**: Students should wrestle with problems before
receiving explanations, as this deepens understanding.

**Rationale**: Research on desirable difficulties (Bjork, 1994)
shows that making learning harder in the right ways improves
long-term retention. The "Struggle Zone" identified by our
research lies between trivial and impossible.

**Implications**:
- Slide design: Present problems before solutions; use
  "pause and think" moments
- Activities: Provide challenges slightly beyond current
  ability with scaffolds available
- Assessment: Value process and reasoning, not just
  correct answers