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learning-design-review skill

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This skill reviews educational content against the Four Learning Design Pillars, providing structured feedback with actionable recommendations and principle

npx playbooks add skill vishalsachdev/claude-skills --skill learning-design-review

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

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SKILL.md

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---
name: learning-design-review
description: Review educational content against the Four Learning Design Pillars framework. Use when users want to evaluate course materials, lessons, tutorials, e-learning modules, or any instructional content for alignment with evidence-based learning design principles. Provides structured feedback with specific principle references (e.g., 1.1.1, 2.3.4) and actionable recommendations.
---

# Learning Design Review

Evaluate educational content against the Four Learning Design Pillars - an evidence-based framework synthesized from multimedia learning research, cognitive load theory, and UX best practices.

## Skill Purpose

This skill provides structured reviews of educational content by evaluating it against 46 research-based principles organized into four pillars:

1. **Pillar 1: Clear, Purposeful Structure** - Content organization, design consistency, learning path clarity, adaptive design
2. **Pillar 2: Active, Engaging Learning Content** - Content design, multimedia elements, engagement techniques, quality standards
3. **Pillar 3: Continuous Practice & Feedback** - Practice variety, feedback mechanisms, metacognition support
4. **Pillar 4: Simple, Intuitive UX** - Navigation, accessibility, media controls

## Usage

Invoke this skill when users say things like:
- "Review this course against learning design principles"
- "Evaluate my lesson plan"
- "Check if my tutorial follows best practices"
- "Analyze this e-learning module"
- "Review this educational content"

## Workflow

### Step 1: Gather the Content

Ask the user to provide the educational content in one of these formats:

```
To review your content against the Four Learning Design Pillars, please provide it in one of these ways:

1. **File path** - Path to a document, HTML file, or course export
2. **URL** - Link to a publicly accessible course page or lesson
3. **Pasted text** - Copy and paste the content directly
4. **Description** - Describe the course structure and key elements

What would you like me to review?
```

### Step 2: Load the Principles

Read the principles file to ensure access to all current principle definitions:

```
{SKILL_DIR}/../principles/learning-design-pillars.yaml
```

Note: `{SKILL_DIR}` refers to this skill's directory. When installed at `~/.claude/skills/learning-design-pillars/`, the principles file is at `~/.claude/skills/learning-design-pillars/principles/`.

This file contains the complete framework with 4 pillars, 13 categories, and 46 principles.

### Step 3: Analyze Content Against Each Pillar

Evaluate the content systematically against each pillar. For each pillar, identify:
- **Strengths**: What the content does well (cite specific principle IDs)
- **Areas for Improvement**: Where the content falls short (cite specific principle IDs)
- **Evidence**: Specific examples from the content supporting your assessment

#### Pillar 1: Clear, Purposeful Structure (Principles 1.1.1-1.4.2)

Evaluate:
- Content segmentation and organization (1.1.x)
- Design consistency and formatting (1.2.x)
- Learning objectives and alignment (1.3.x)
- Adaptive and learner-controlled elements (1.4.x)

#### Pillar 2: Active, Engaging Learning Content (Principles 2.1.1-2.4.4)

Evaluate:
- Content presentation and visual design (2.1.x)
- Multimedia and interactive elements (2.2.x)
- Engagement and relevance techniques (2.3.x)
- Quality, accuracy, and accessibility (2.4.x)

#### Pillar 3: Continuous Practice & Feedback (Principles 3.1.1-3.3.4)

Evaluate:
- Practice variety and authenticity (3.1.x)
- Feedback quality and timeliness (3.2.x)
- Metacognition and reflection support (3.3.x)

#### Pillar 4: Simple, Intuitive UX (Principles 4.1.1-4.3.2)

Evaluate:
- Navigation and orientation (4.1.x)
- Accessibility and device optimization (4.2.x)
- Media controls and time estimates (4.3.x)

### Step 4: Calculate Scores

Score each pillar on a 1-5 scale:

| Score | Rating | Description |
|-------|--------|-------------|
| 5 | Exemplary | Consistently demonstrates best practices across all principles |
| 4 | Strong | Good alignment with most principles, minor gaps |
| 3 | Developing | Meets basic requirements, notable improvement areas |
| 2 | Emerging | Significant gaps, limited alignment with principles |
| 1 | Beginning | Major redesign needed across most principles |

Calculate an overall weighted score (equal weight per pillar).

### Step 5: Generate the Review Report

Produce a structured report using this format:

```markdown
# Learning Design Review

**Content Reviewed:** [Name/description of content]
**Review Date:** [Date]
**Overall Score:** [X.X/5.0] - [Rating]

---

## Executive Summary

[2-3 sentence overview of key findings]

---

## Pillar 1: Clear, Purposeful Structure
**Score: X/5**

### Strengths
- [Strength 1] (Principle X.X.X)
- [Strength 2] (Principle X.X.X)

### Areas for Improvement
- [Gap 1] (Principle X.X.X): [Specific recommendation]
- [Gap 2] (Principle X.X.X): [Specific recommendation]

---

## Pillar 2: Active, Engaging Learning Content
**Score: X/5**

### Strengths
- [Strength 1] (Principle X.X.X)
- [Strength 2] (Principle X.X.X)

### Areas for Improvement
- [Gap 1] (Principle X.X.X): [Specific recommendation]
- [Gap 2] (Principle X.X.X): [Specific recommendation]

---

## Pillar 3: Continuous Practice & Feedback
**Score: X/5**

### Strengths
- [Strength 1] (Principle X.X.X)
- [Strength 2] (Principle X.X.X)

### Areas for Improvement
- [Gap 1] (Principle X.X.X): [Specific recommendation]
- [Gap 2] (Principle X.X.X): [Specific recommendation]

---

## Pillar 4: Simple, Intuitive UX
**Score: X/5**

### Strengths
- [Strength 1] (Principle X.X.X)
- [Strength 2] (Principle X.X.X)

### Areas for Improvement
- [Gap 1] (Principle X.X.X): [Specific recommendation]
- [Gap 2] (Principle X.X.X): [Specific recommendation]

---

## Priority Recommendations

Ranked by impact and effort:

1. **[High Priority]** [Recommendation] (Addresses: X.X.X, X.X.X)
   - Why: [Rationale]
   - How: [Specific action steps]

2. **[Medium Priority]** [Recommendation] (Addresses: X.X.X)
   - Why: [Rationale]
   - How: [Specific action steps]

3. **[Lower Priority]** [Recommendation] (Addresses: X.X.X)
   - Why: [Rationale]
   - How: [Specific action steps]

---

## Quick Wins

Small changes with immediate impact:
- [ ] [Quick win 1]
- [ ] [Quick win 2]
- [ ] [Quick win 3]
```

## Principle Reference Quick Guide

When citing principles, use the hierarchical ID system:

- **1.x.x** = Structure (Organization, Consistency, Learning Path, Adaptive)
- **2.x.x** = Content (Design, Multimedia, Engagement, Quality)
- **3.x.x** = Practice (Variety, Feedback, Metacognition)
- **4.x.x** = UX (Navigation, Accessibility, Media Control)

Example citations:
- "Clear learning objectives at module start (1.3.1)"
- "Short, focused video segments under 5 minutes (2.2.3)"
- "Low-stakes practice quizzes with unlimited attempts (3.1.6)"
- "Mobile-responsive layout (4.2.3)"

## Notes

- Always reference specific principle IDs to make feedback actionable
- Prioritize recommendations by impact on learning outcomes
- Consider the content's context (audience, constraints, platform)
- Focus on actionable suggestions, not just critique
- When in doubt about a rating, err toward constructive feedback

Overview

This skill reviews educational content against the Four Learning Design Pillars framework to produce a structured, actionable learning design report. It evaluates course materials, lessons, tutorials, and e-learning modules and returns strengths, gaps, scores, and prioritized recommendations tied to specific principle IDs.

How this skill works

Provide the content as a file path, URL, pasted text, or a descriptive outline. The skill compares the material against 46 evidence-based principles organized into four pillars, cites relevant principle IDs (e.g., 1.3.1, 2.2.3), calculates pillar and overall scores, and generates a clear review with prioritized fixes and quick wins.

When to use it

Before launch: validate a course or module for evidence-based design
During iteration: identify concrete changes to improve learning outcomes
For auditing: compare multiple courses on consistent criteria
When accessibility or UX concerns arise for learners
To turn feedback into prioritized design tasks

Best practices

Share full lesson text or a representative module for accurate analysis
Specify audience, platform, and learning objectives for contextualized recommendations
Use principle IDs in follow-up requests to narrow refinements (e.g., 2.3.2)
Prioritize fixes that increase practice + feedback and clarify objectives
Apply quick wins first (small effort, high impact) before larger redesigns

Example use cases

Evaluate a 6-lesson beginner course for alignment with learning objectives (1.3.x)
Audit video-heavy training to ensure microlearning and multimedia best practices (2.2.3, 2.1.2)
Improve a tutorial by adding low-stakes practice and richer feedback (3.1.6, 3.2.1)
Check an LMS module for navigation, mobile responsiveness, and media controls (4.1.1, 4.2.3, 4.3.1)
Create a prioritized roadmap of design changes with estimated impact and effort

FAQ

What input formats are accepted?

File path, publicly accessible URL, pasted text, or a structured description of the course and elements.

Will the review include exact principle references?

Yes. Each strength and gap cites specific principle IDs (for example 1.3.1 or 3.2.4) to make recommendations actionable.

How are scores calculated?

Each of the four pillars is scored 1–5, then an equal-weighted overall score is computed and accompanied by a rating and rationale.