From 3b37863fc3ed47f0f7acb5417ac728aff36398db Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Matt Pocock Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:52:32 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Enhance teaching guidelines by introducing concepts of fluency vs storage strength, emphasizing long-term retention strategies, and adding reminders for follow-up questions to improve learner engagement. --- skills/productivity/teach/SKILL.md | 31 +++++++++++++++++++++++------- 1 file changed, 24 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-) diff --git a/skills/productivity/teach/SKILL.md b/skills/productivity/teach/SKILL.md index 8117496..2f9315e 100644 --- a/skills/productivity/teach/SKILL.md +++ b/skills/productivity/teach/SKILL.md @@ -30,13 +30,26 @@ Before the `RESOURCES.md` is well-populated, your focus should be to find high-q Some topics may require more skills than knowledge. Learning more about theoretical physics might be more knowledge-based. For yoga, more skills-based. +### Fluency vs Storage Strength + +You should be careful to split between two types of learning: + +- **Fluency strength**: in-the-moment retrieval of knowledge +- **Storage strength**: long-term retention of knowledge + +Fluency can give the learner an illusory sense of mastery, but storage strength is the real goal. Try to design lessons which build long-term retention by desirable difficulty: + +- Using retrieval practice (recall from memory) +- Spacing (distributing practice over time) +- Interleaving (mixing up different but related topics in practice - for skills practice only) + ## Lessons A lesson is the main thing you produce — the unit in which knowledge and skills reach the user. Each lesson is one self-contained HTML file, saved to `./lessons/` and titled `0001-.html` where the number increments each time. -A lesson should be **beautiful** — clean, readable typography and layout — since the user will return to these later to review. +A lesson should be **beautiful** — clean, readable typography and layout — since the user will return to these later to review. Think Tufte. -The lesson should be short, and completable very quickly - but give the user a single tangible win that they can build on. It should be directly tied to the mission, and should be in the user's zone of proximal development. +The lesson should be short, and completable very quickly. Learners' working memory is very small, and we need to stay within it. But each lesson should give the user a single tangible win that they can build on. It should be directly tied to the mission, and should be in the user's zone of proximal development. If possible, open the lesson file for the user by running a CLI command. @@ -44,6 +57,8 @@ Each lesson should link via HTML anchors to other lessons and reference document Each lesson should recommend a primary source for the user to read or watch. This should be the most high-quality, high-trust resource you found on the topic. +Each lesson should contain a reminder to ask followup questions to the agent. The agent is their teacher, and can assist with anything that's unclear. + ## The Mission Every lesson should be tied into the mission - the reason that the user is interested in learning about the topic. @@ -64,17 +79,19 @@ The user may specify an exact thing they want to learn. If they don't, figure ou - Figuring out the right thing to teach them based on their mission - Teach the most relevant thing that fits in their zone of proximal development -## Acquiring Knowledge & Skills +## Knowledge Lessons should be designed around a skill the user is going to learn. The knowledge in the lesson should be only what's required to acquire that skill. You teach the knowledge first, then get the user to practice the skills via an interactive feedback loop. -Knowledge should first be gathered from trusted resources. Use `RESOURCES.md` to keep track of them. Lessons should be littered with citations - links to external resources to back up any claim made. This increases the trustworthiness of the lesson, and gives the user a path to acquire more knowledge if they want to go deeper. +Knowledge should first be gathered from trusted resources. Use `RESOURCES.md` to keep track of them. Lessons should be littered with citations - links to external resources to back up any claim made. This increases the trustworthiness of the lesson. -Each lesson should contain a reminder to ask followup questions to the agent. The agent is their teacher, and can assist with anything that's unclear. +For acquiring knowledge, difficulty is the enemy. It eats working memory you need for understanding. -### Skills +## Skills -Skills should be taught through interactive lessons. There are several tools at your disposal: +If knowledge is all about acquisition, skills are about durability and flexibility. Make the knowledge stick. + +For skill acquisition, difficulty is the tool. Effortful retrieval is what builds storage strength. Skills should be taught through interactive lessons. There are several tools at your disposal: - Interactive lessons, using quizzes and light in-browser tasks - Lessons which guide the user through a list of real-world steps to take (for instance, yoga poses)