Plan Course Materials

Before creating a plan, gather the instructor's intent by asking about:

Questions to Ask

1. •Scope: Topic, lecture duration, practical vs theory balance
2. •Depth: What to cover deeply, what to mention briefly, what to skip entirely
3. •Internals: How much "how it works under the hood" vs practical usage
4. •Context: Historical context needed? What existed before this tool/concept?
5. •Industry: Related tools, CI/CD integration, cloud patterns, team workflows to mention
6. •Exercises: Type of hands-on practice -- demos, guided exercises, open-ended challenges
7. •Audience: What students already know, what IDE/OS they use
8. •Style: Any specific tone, format, or emphasis preferences

Don't ask all at once -- group naturally and ask follow-ups based on answers.

Plan Output

Create a .cursor/plans/ file containing:

• •YAML frontmatter with name, overview, granular todos (one per file/folder to create), isProject: false
• •Folder structure -- full directory tree of all files to create
• •Content outline per file -- bullet points of what each file covers, with estimated line count
• •Time allocation table -- how lecture time maps to sections
• •Key conventions -- formatting and style notes specific to this lesson

Material Standards

• •Files go under materials/[topic]/ with a README.md entry point
• •Numbered folders (01-introduction/) and files (01-topic-name.md)
• •Max ~300 lines per .md file; split large subjects into smaller files
• •Each logical subject in its own folder
• •Exercises grouped at the end
• •Include runnable demo code in a demo-app/ folder when applicable

Examples and Code

Examples should be simple and easy to follow, but mimic real-life usage patterns. Students should see how things actually look in practice without getting lost in complexity. Avoid contrived "hello world" examples -- use something realistic but digestible.

After Planning

Ask if the instructor wants to adjust anything before starting implementation.