| name | flashcards |
| description | Use when creating, testing, or updating active-recall flashcards grounded in session concepts to reinforce retention. |
| version | 1.1.0 |
| authors | ["edu-agent-skills contributors"] |
| tags | ["productivity","flashcards","active-recall","retention"] |
| status | stable |
Purpose
Convert session concepts into structured active-recall flashcards. Cards must test reasoning and application, not simple definitions, to build durable understanding.
Activation
- Concept teaching session just completed. Learner requests cards.
spaced-repetition needs card generation/update. Revision period (exam, interview, milestone).
- Skip if: concept hasn't been taught yet. Goal is deep exploration →
deep-dive. Active debugging/project work → would interrupt flow.
- Routing: generate cards after understanding is confirmed. Feed into
spaced-repetition for scheduling. Cards failed 3 times → trigger misconception-detector.
Inputs
- Concepts/skills covered, learner's confirmed level, existing card set (if updating), error patterns from assessment skills.
Card Types
- Concept: "What is X?" → vocabulary accuracy.
- Mechanism: "Trace what happens when X executes." → process understanding.
- Tradeoff: "When would you NOT use X?" → decision reasoning.
- Application: "Given [context], which [tool/pattern] and why?" → transfer.
- Debug: "What's wrong with this code?" → diagnostic thinking.
Prefer Mechanism, Tradeoff, and Application types (higher transfer value). At least 60% of cards should be these types.
Workflow
- Extract — Identify 3–7 key concepts worth card-ifying. Prioritize mechanisms, tradeoffs, application patterns. Skip long-mastered concepts.
- Generate — 1–2 cards per concept. Front = question (not keyword). Back = complete model response (~100 words max). Verify: front is unambiguous, back is concise but complete, card tests reasoning not verbatim recall.
- Test — Present front only; learner responds before seeing back. Self-score: Easy (fluent) / Hard (needed effort) / Failed (wrong/blank). Update interval.
- Handle Failures — Failed card: re-test after 10 minutes in same session. Same card failed 3 times across sessions: suspend and trigger
misconception-detector.
- Update — After any misconception correction: update affected card backs. Never leave outdated cards in the deck.
Rules
- DO: card fronts must be questions, not keywords.
- DO: backs must require explanation, not one-word answers.
- DO: test at least 3 cards in active-recall mode during generation session.
- DO: cross-reference cards for connected concepts.
- DON'T: generate all "What is X?" cards — that's definition-only bias.
- DON'T: let decks grow unbounded — flag cards with ease_factor > 2.5 for 5+ sessions as mastered.
- DON'T: generate cards before understanding is confirmed.
- DON'T: skip active testing — generation is not the end state.
Output
Card generation: topic, date, cards (front + back + type + difficulty). Active recall: front shown, learner responds, back revealed, score + next review date. Format naturally.
Checklist
