Course Builder
revfactory/harness-100
A full production pipeline where an agent team collaborates to design online courses all at once — curriculum, lesson plans, quizzes, and hands-on labs.
Plans an OpenMAIC lesson or course series by backward design: enduring understandings and essential questions first, then performance evidence, then learning activities.
SKILL.md written in Chinese; this summary is our English description.
Install Understanding by Design Planner
$ npx skills add THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC --skill understanding-by-design -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC understanding-by-design --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design .claude/skills/understanding-by-design && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "understanding-by-design" agent skill from https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC/tree/main/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design into .claude/skills/understanding-by-design/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "understanding-by-design", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC/tree/main/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-designType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC --skill understanding-by-design -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC understanding-by-design --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design .agents/skills/understanding-by-design && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "understanding-by-design" agent skill from https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC/tree/main/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design into .agents/skills/understanding-by-design/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "understanding-by-design", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC --skill understanding-by-design -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC understanding-by-design --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design .cursor/skills/understanding-by-design && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "understanding-by-design" agent skill from https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC/tree/main/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design into .cursor/skills/understanding-by-design/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "understanding-by-design", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC.git --path skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC --skill understanding-by-design -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC understanding-by-design --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design .gemini/skills/understanding-by-design && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "understanding-by-design" agent skill from https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC/tree/main/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design into .gemini/skills/understanding-by-design/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "understanding-by-design", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC understanding-by-designInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC --skill understanding-by-design -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design .github/skills/understanding-by-design && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "understanding-by-design" agent skill from https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC/tree/main/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design into .github/skills/understanding-by-design/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "understanding-by-design", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC --skill understanding-by-design -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC understanding-by-design --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design .opencode/skills/understanding-by-design && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "understanding-by-design" agent skill from https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC/tree/main/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design into .opencode/skills/understanding-by-design/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "understanding-by-design", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
understanding-by-design- GitHub stars
- 40k
- Token cost
- ~548 tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 117 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 25
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Plans an OpenMAIC lesson or course series by backward design: enduring understandings and essential questions first, then performance evidence, then learning activities.
- Works in 3 steps: 用 1–3 句声明持久理解（Enduring… → 写出 1–2 个基本问题（Essential… → 用基本问题打开课程第一页，把抽象概念变成一个需要探究的真实问题。
- Planning a lesson backward from what students should finally understand
- SKILL.md covers 先确定设计范围, 阶段一：确定预期结果, 阶段二：先确定评估证据 and 阶段三：用 WHERETO 设计学习经历, plus 3 more sections
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Written in Chinese, this skill applies Understanding by Design to one lesson or a unit. Stage one fixes the desired results: a short statement of an enduring understanding, and one or two open essential questions that the first page raises. Stage two sets the assessment evidence before any page plan, using a GRASPS performance task (goal, role, audience, situation, product, standards) on a project page, quizzes that expose misconceptions, and interactive tasks that test transfer.
Stage three designs experiences with WHERETO, checking each activity for purpose, hook, equipping evidence, hands-on experience, rethinking, tailoring and organization. A suggested page rhythm runs from a question slide through concept slides, interactive and quiz pages and the performance task to a closing check that returns to the essential question. Quality gates require every page to serve a stated understanding, abstract ideas to get an interactive or project page, and a unit blueprint to be confirmed before lessons are drafted. It is not for style cloning, teacher imitation or direct PPT import.
When your agent uses it
- Planning a lesson backward from what students should finally understand
- Writing essential questions and a GRASPS performance task for a unit
- Checking each learning activity against WHERETO
Example prompts
- “Plan a lesson on supply and demand using backward design, starting with the enduring understanding.”
- “Write a GRASPS performance task for our unit on renewable energy.”
- “Review this lesson plan and tell me which pages do not serve the essential question.”
Workflow steps
3 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.
- 用 1–3 句声明持久理解（Enduring Understanding）：学生离开课堂后仍能保留并迁移的思想，而不是事实清单。
- 写出 1–2 个基本问题（Essential Question）：开放、可持续讨论、没有唯一答案，并能在课程中反复回到。
- 用基本问题打开课程第一页，把抽象概念变成一个需要探究的真实问题。
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 7d324aa. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Understanding by Design Planner loads about 548 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 110 tokens; SKILL.md has 117 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
The full file from THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC at commit 7d324aa, republished under its MIT licence (© THU-MAIC). 117 words, ~548 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/understanding-by-design/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- understanding-by-design
- description
- Use Understanding by Design (UbD) to plan one OpenMAIC classroom or a course series around transferable conceptual understanding. Use when the user wants backward design, enduring understandings, essential questions, GRASPS performance evidence, WHERETO learning experiences, or a concept-centered lesson rather than a list of facts. Do not use for visual style cloning, teacher-style imitation, or direct PPT import.
- title
- 理解本位设计（UbD）
理解本位设计（UbD）
用 UbD 逆向设计组织一节课或一组系列课：先明确学生最终要理解什么、如何证明真正理解，再设计学习经历。
stage-design 仍然约束新课堂的持久化顺序；本 Skill 约束教学设计与每页 brief 的内容。已有页面的课堂按 pro-editing 做局部编辑，不要重建课堂。
先确定设计范围
- 单节独立课：在本课内走完整三阶段。
- 单元或系列课：先以整个单元为单位确定大概念、总基本问题与单元表现性任务，再为每节课拆出子理解、子问题与子评估。先得到用户对单元蓝图的确认，再逐节起稿。
只有当用户的请求不足以判断单节还是系列时，才用 ask_user 确认范围。
阶段一：确定预期结果
- 用 1–3 句声明持久理解（Enduring Understanding）：学生离开课堂后仍能保留并迁移的思想，而不是事实清单。
- 写出 1–2 个基本问题（Essential Question）：开放、可持续讨论、没有唯一答案，并能在课程中反复回到。
- 用基本问题打开课程第一页，把抽象概念变成一个需要探究的真实问题。
阶段二：先确定评估证据
在写页面计划前定义学生如何证明理解：
- 表现性任务（GRASPS）：写清 Goal、Role、Audience、Situation、Product 和 Standards，在 OpenMAIC 中优先落到
pbl页。 - 概念诊断与辨析：用
quiz暴露典型错误概念，要求学生给出理由，不只是选项。 - 迁移与应用：用
interactive或新情境任务观察学生能否把理解用到变化后的问题中。
表现性任务是学习路径的终点，前面的页面都要为它提供概念、证据或练习，不要在课程末尾突然加一个没有铺垫的任务。
阶段三：用 WHERETO 设计学习经历
用 WHERETO 检查每个活动，并把它们写进页面 brief：
- W — Where & Why：学生知道学习要去哪里、为什么值得学。
- H — Hook：用真实、有冲突的情境或问题引出基本问题。
- E — Equip：用
slide提供建立概念所需的证据与逻辑链。 - E — Experience：用
interactive让学生操作、模拟或亲手做出概念。 - R — Rethink & Revise：换一个情境让学生重新应用并修正理解。
- T — Tailor：为不同起点的学生提供支架与挑战。
- O — Organize：页面顺序让理解逐步生成，最后回到基本问题。
OpenMAIC 页面节奏
可以从下列节奏起步，但根据表现性证据调整，不要机械套模板：
slide：基本问题与真实情境；slide：用证据或逻辑链建立概念；interactive：让学生亲手做出核心概念；quiz或interactive：在新情境中辨析、迁移或修正；pbl：完成 GRASPS 表现性任务；quiz与收束slide：检查概念并回到基本问题。
页面标题用探究式问题或真实情境，不要写成教科书目录。语言跟随用户和课程语言。
质量关口
- 明确写出大概念、基本问题、GRASPS 表现性任务与 WHERETO 覆盖。
- 每一页都能回答“它在服务哪个理解或基本问题”；答不出的页面删除或改写。
- 抽象概念必须有
interactive或pbl让学生实际操作、判断或创造，不能只听讲解。 - 系列课先确认单元蓝图，不跳过总体设计直接批量生成。
边界
不用于品牌风格复制、名师讲课风格模仿、纯排版克隆或 PPT 直接导入；这些请求分别使用对应的 style、teacher-style 或 pptx-import 流程。
© THU-MAIC, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
Just SKILL.md in skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design of THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 7d324aa
Compare with similar skills
Understanding by Design Planner next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Understanding by Design Planner this skillTHU-MAIC/OpenMAIC | 40k | — | ~548 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Course Builderrevfactory/harness-100 | 1.3k | — | ~1.8k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| AI Engineering Placement Quizrohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch | 66k | — | ~2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Codex Skill Self-AssessmentFlorianBruniaux/claude-code-ultimate-guide | 6.1k | — | ~2.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | CC-BY-SA-4.0 | |
| Learn Law With Rohasrohasnagpal/legal-ai-skills | 178 | — | ~2.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Oerschema Integration Finderhaxtheweb/haxcms-php | 130 | — | ~4.1k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
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Related
Categories
Questions about Understanding by Design Planner
What does Understanding by Design Planner do?
Plans an OpenMAIC lesson or course series by backward design: enduring understandings and essential questions first, then performance evidence, then learning activities. Written in Chinese, this skill applies Understanding by Design to one lesson or a unit. Stage one fixes the desired results: a short statement of an enduring understanding, and one or two open essential questions that the first page raises.
When should I use Understanding by Design Planner?
Understanding by Design Planner fits situations like: planning a lesson backward from what students should finally understand; writing essential questions and a GRASPS performance task for a unit; checking each learning activity against WHERETO.
How do I install Understanding by Design Planner in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC --skill understanding-by-design -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design in THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC) into .claude/skills/understanding-by-design in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Understanding by Design Planner in Codex?
Run `npx skills add THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC --skill understanding-by-design -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design in THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC) into .agents/skills/understanding-by-design in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Understanding by Design Planner in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC --skill understanding-by-design -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/understanding-by-design, .gemini/skills/understanding-by-design, .github/skills/understanding-by-design and .opencode/skills/understanding-by-design in your project.
What does Understanding by Design Planner need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Understanding by Design Planner is instructions for the agent only.
Does Understanding by Design Planner access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Understanding by Design Planner safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Understanding by Design Planner use?
Understanding by Design Planner is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Understanding by Design Planner use?
About 548 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Understanding by Design Planner?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Understanding by Design Planner: Course Builder (revfactory/harness-100, 1.3k stars), AI Engineering Placement Quiz (rohitg00/ai-engineering-from-scratch, 66k stars), Codex Skill Self-Assessment (FlorianBruniaux/claude-code-ultimate-guide, 6.1k stars) and Learn Law With Rohas (rohasnagpal/legal-ai-skills, 178 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Understanding by Design Planner?
THU-MAIC (a GitHub organization) maintains it in THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC, which has 40,274 GitHub stars. The repository holds 25 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 10, 2026.
Source: THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.