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Understanding By Design

OrganizationPopular
THU-MAIC
understanding-by-design

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.

Overview

PublisherTHU-MAIC
RepositoryOpenMAIC
Skill nameunderstanding-by-design
Stars
37.6K
Forks
5.9K
Bundled files
Instructions only
LicenseMIT
Links
  • Markdown instructions

    A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.

  • Works with any LLM

    AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.

  • Self-contained

    Everything the model needs lives in the instructions — no extra files to sync.

  • Open source

    Published by THU-MAIC on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Understanding By Design AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

1

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

  1. Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
  2. Choose "Install from GitHub".
  3. Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
  4. Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.
Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.
2

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC.git /tmp/OpenMAIC
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/OpenMAIC/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design .claude/skills/understanding-by-design
Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Understanding By Design in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Understanding By Design on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Understanding By Design is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

  • Loaded only when it is needed

    The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.

  • Switch models mid-chat

    Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

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

  1. 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。
  2. 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。
  3. 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:

  1. slide:基本问题与真实情境;
  2. slide:用证据或逻辑链建立概念;
  3. interactive:让学生亲手做出核心概念;
  4. quizinteractive:在新情境中辨析、迁移或修正;
  5. pbl:完成 GRASPS 表现性任务;
  6. 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 interactivepbl 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。

Frequently asked questions

What does the Understanding By Design AI skill do?

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.

Why use Understanding By Design on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Understanding By Design is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Understanding By Design in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/THU-MAIC/OpenMAIC/tree/main/skills/agent-runtime/understanding-by-design. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Understanding By Design?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Understanding By Design?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Understanding By Design with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Understanding By Design AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by THU-MAIC under the MIT license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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