didactic-notes_skill

Overview

This skill documents pedagogical design decisions directly inside LaTeX using the didactic package and the \ltnote{} command. It helps authors capture learning objectives, variation patterns, assessment intent, and design trade-offs next to the student-facing content. Use it to keep pedagogical rationale visible, reproducible, and separate from student text.

How this skill works

You insert \ltnote{...} margin notes alongside activities, examples, exercises, or semantic environments to record why you taught something a particular way. The skill recommends referring to restatable learning objectives with \cref{} or starred LO commands, naming variation/invariance patterns, and citing pedagogical research with biblatex commands. It enforces the rule that pedagogical reasoning belongs in \ltnote{} (or hidden instructor material) and not in student-facing prose.

When to use it

• Writing or editing educational LaTeX materials that include pedagogical content
• Adding variation theory labels (contrast, generalization, fusion) or patterns to student-facing content
• Explaining sequence choices for examples, exercises, or activities
• Documenting trade-offs, assessment intent, or cognitive load decisions
• Moving instructor reasoning out of student-facing text into margin notes

Best practices

• Write notes as you design; capture rationale immediately rather than retrofitting
• Connect each note to specific learning objectives using mnemonic labels and \cref{} or starred LO commands
• Name the variation pattern and specify what varies and what is invariant
• Keep one clear point per \ltnote{}; use detailed notes for prose and compact starred forms when space is limited
• Cite pedagogical literature via biblatex and keep a dedicated ltnotes.bib for references
• Use language consistent with the surrounding document and toggle notes visibility with \ltnoteon/\ltnoteoff

Example use cases

• Annotate an activity with try-first rationale so graders and future authors know the intended mechanism
• Mark an example pair with contrast pattern and note the critical aspect students should discern
• Document why an exercise is sequenced before another to manage cognitive load
• Attach assessment intent to a question so instructors can see what is being measured
• Write post-example generalizations in a remark environment and explain the abstraction step