Course Planning Skill

Triggering Contexts

•User wants to create a new course from scratch
•User feels an existing course is drifting or inconsistent
•User needs to restructure a curriculum
•User asks "what should this course cover?"

Core Principle

Outcomes first, topics second. Never start with "what should we teach?" Always start with "what should students be able to DO?"

Workflow

Step 1: Define Course Identity

Ask for and document:

markdown

## Course Identity
- **Course Name:**
- **Duration:** (weeks, total hours, # sessions)
- **Format:** (lecture / workshop / hybrid / online / project-based)
- **Domain:** (e.g., investing, Bitcoin, programming)
- **One-line promise:** "After this course, students will be able to ____"

Step 2: Define Observable Outcomes

Outcomes must be observable and measurable, not vague.

❌ Vague	✅ Observable
"Understand technical analysis"	"Build a complete trading system using 3+ indicators"
"Learn about Bitcoin"	"Explain Bitcoin's monetary properties to a skeptic"
"Know risk management"	"Calculate position size given account size and stop loss"

Rule: Use action verbs. Build, Calculate, Design, Evaluate, Compare, Demonstrate, Explain, Create.

Ask the user to define 3-5 core outcomes. Fewer is better.

Step 3: Create Student Personas

Define 2-3 student profiles that represent the audience:

markdown

### Persona: [Name]
- **Background:** What they already know
- **Goal:** Why they're taking this course
- **Challenge:** What will be hardest for them
- **Success looks like:** What makes the course worth it for them

Why this matters: Every design decision should be checked against these personas. "Would Beginner Ben understand this? Would Advanced Amy be bored?"

Step 4: Map Modules to Outcomes

Create a module-outcome matrix:

Module	Outcome 1	Outcome 2	Outcome 3	Outcome 4
Module 1: Foundations	✅ Intro	✅ Intro
Module 2: Core Skills	✅ Build		✅ Intro
Module 3: Application		✅ Build	✅ Build	✅ Intro
Module 4: Mastery	✅ Assess	✅ Assess	✅ Build	✅ Assess

Every outcome must appear at least twice: once for learning, once for assessment. Every module must serve at least one outcome. Modules with no outcomes get cut.

Step 5: Sequence Modules

Check the sequence with these questions:

•Does each module build on the previous one?
•Are prerequisites taught before they're needed?
•Is there a logical arc? (Foundation → Skill building → Application → Mastery)
•Is the difficulty curve progressive, not flat or spiking?

Step 6: Design Assessment Strategy

Map assessments to outcomes:

Outcome	Assessment Type	When
"Build a trading system"	Project	Module 4
"Calculate position size"	Quiz / Exercise	Module 2
"Explain to a skeptic"	Presentation	Module 3

Rule: Every outcome must have at least one assessment. If you can't assess it, it's not a real outcome.

Output: Course Blueprint

The final deliverable is a course-blueprint.md:

markdown

# [Course Name] Blueprint

## Course Identity
[From Step 1]

## Outcomes
1. [Observable outcome]
2. [Observable outcome]
3. [Observable outcome]

## Student Personas
[From Step 3]

## Module Structure
[Module-outcome matrix from Step 4]

### Module 1: [Name]
- **Sessions:** [N]
- **Outcomes served:** [list]
- **Key topics:** [brief]
- **Format mix:** [lecture %, workshop %, project %]

### Module 2: [Name]
...

## Assessment Map
[From Step 6]

## Prerequisite Chain
[Which modules depend on which]

Red Flags to Call Out

•⚠️ Orphan topic: Content that doesn't serve any outcome → Cut it
•⚠️ Unassessed outcome: Outcome with no assessment → Add one
•⚠️ Persona neglect: All content targets one persona → Rebalance
•⚠️ Front-loaded theory: First 3+ sessions are all lecture → Add early hands-on
•⚠️ Missing prerequisites: Module requires knowledge not taught yet → Resequence

Cross-References

•After blueprint is done → Use designing-classes for each session
•After all sessions designed → Use aligning-curriculum to check consistency