didactic-notes

name

didactic-notes

description

Document pedagogical design decisions in educational materials using the didactic LaTeX package and \ltnote command. Use proactively when (1) writing or editing educational LaTeX materials with pedagogical content, (2) adding or revising variation-theory annotations such as "What varies" or "What stays invariant", (3) explaining design trade-offs or choices in educational materials, (4) documenting why specific examples or exercises are sequenced in a particular way, or (5) moving pedagogical reasoning out of student-facing prose and into instructor notes. Invoke when user mentions didactic notes, \ltnote, pedagogical reasoning, learning theory notes, educational design documentation, or asks to move pedagogical reasoning to instructor notes. CRITICAL: Pedagogical reasoning (variation/invariance labels, pattern names, design rationale) should be in \ltnote{}, NOT in student-facing text.

Didactic Notes: Literate Pedagogy

This skill documents pedagogical design decisions in educational materials, analogous to how literate programming documents code design decisions.

Reference Files

This skill includes detailed references in references/:

File	Content	Search patterns
latex-examples.md	Restatable LOs, citations, complete examples	restatable, \cref{}, biblatex
beamer-patterns.md	Mode splits, overlays, verbose environments	\mode<article>, uncoverenv, \textbytext
semantic-environments.md	Environment selection, generalizations	definition, remark, example, block

Core Principle

Document not just what you teach, but why you teach it that way.

Just as literate programming makes code reasoning explicit, didactic notes make pedagogical reasoning explicit using \ltnote{...} from the LaTeX didactic package.

Quick Example

Without didactic notes:

\begin{activity}\label{PredictOutput}
  What do you think this function returns?
\end{activity}

With didactic notes:

\begin{activity}\label{PredictOutput}
  What do you think this function returns?
\end{activity}

\ltnote{%
  Following try-first pedagogy, we ask students to predict before
  explaining. This creates contrast between their mental model and
  the actual behavior, helping them discern the critical aspect.
}

Anti-pattern: visible variation labels

Pedagogical labels such as \enquote{What varies} and \enquote{What stays invariant} belong in notes, not in the student-facing body text.

Bad:

These two examples form a deliberate contrast.

\begin{description}
\item[What varies] Whether [[base_url]] is passed explicitly.
\item[What stays invariant] The helper, the question, and the layout.
\end{description}

Good:

\ltnote{%
  \textbf{Variation pattern}: Contrast
  \textbf{What varies}: Whether [[base_url]] is passed explicitly.
  \textbf{What stays invariant}: The helper, the question, and the layout.
}

The didactic Package

Package Setup

\usepackage[marginparmargin=outer]{didactic}

Options:

• marginparmargin=outer - Place margin notes on outer margins
• inner=20mm, outer=60mm - Set margin widths
• notheorems - Disable automatic theorem environments

The \ltnote Command

Creates margin notes documenting pedagogical rationale:

\ltnote{%
  We want to investigate what people think literate programming is.
  This will help us understand the correctness of their prior knowledge.
}

Learning Objectives with Restatable

Use restatable environment for learning objectives that can be referenced throughout:

\begin{restatable}{lo}{FilesLOPersistence}\label{FilesLOPersistence}%
  Förklara skillnaden mellan primärminne och sekundärminne.
\end{restatable}

Key points:

• Use mnemonic labels (e.g., FilesLOPersistence, not FilesLO1)
• Add \label{MnemonicLabel} for \cref{} support
• The % after opening brace prevents unwanted whitespace

Referencing LOs

Method 1: \cref{} (Recommended for detailed notes):

\ltnote{%
  Relevanta lärandemål:
  \cref{FilesLOPersistence}

  \textbf{Kritiska aspekter för} \cref{FilesLOPersistence}:
  \begin{itemize}
    \item \textbf{Persistens}: Data överlever avstängning
  \end{itemize}
}

Method 2: Starred commands (Compact):

\ltnote{%
  Relevanta lärandemål:
  \FilesLOPersistence*

  \textbf{Kontrast}: Typ av minne (primär vs sekundär).
}

CRITICAL: LO commands cannot be inside \begin{itemize} or other list environments.

When to Use \ltnote

Document:

1. Learning objectives addressed: Reference with \cref{} or starred commands
2. Pedagogical strategies: "We use try-first pedagogy to activate prior knowledge"
3. Variation theory patterns: Contrast, generalization, fusion
4. Critical aspects students should discern
5. Design trade-offs and decisions
6. Assessment purposes: "This question gauges prior knowledge"
7. Future improvements: Notes for refining material

Writing Effective Notes

CRITICAL: Connect to Learning Objectives

Variation patterns must be tied to specific learning objectives:

\ltnote{%
  Relevanta lärandemål:
  \cref{FilesLOPersistence}

  \textbf{Variationsmönster}: Kontrast

  \textbf{Vad som varierar}: Typ av minne (primär vs sekundär)
  \textbf{Vad som hålls invariant}: Behovet att lagra data

  \textbf{Kritiska aspekter för} \cref{FilesLOPersistence}:
  \begin{itemize}
    \item \textbf{Persistens}: Studenten måste urskilja att filer
      löser problemet med datapersistens.
  \end{itemize}
}

Structure Your Notes

1. State learning objectives: What should students learn?
2. Reference theory: Connect to established learning principles
3. Explain the mechanism: How does this design support objectives?
4. Note alternatives: What else could work?

Language Consistency

CRITICAL: Match the language of \ltnote content to the surrounding document.

% Good - Swedish document with Swedish notes
\ltnote{%
  \textbf{Variationsmönster}: Kontrast
  Vi varierar operationen medan vi håller mönstret invariant.
}

% Use \foreignlanguage for English terms without translation
\ltnote{%
  Vi använder \foreignlanguage{english}{try-first pedagogy} här...
}

Choosing Between Detailed and Compact Notes

Use detailed notes with \cref{} when:

• Writing comprehensive annotations
• Explaining multiple critical aspects
• Need prose-style integration

Use compact notes with starred commands when:

• Space is limited
• Quick overview needed
• Simple annotations suffice

Citing Pedagogical Research

Use biblatex commands instead of hardcoded references:

\ltnote{%
  Following \textcite{MartonPang2006}, we vary the operation...
}

Common commands:

• \textcite{key} → "Marton and Pang (2006)"
• \parencite{key} → "(Marton and Pang 2006)"

Best practice: Use separate ltnotes.bib for pedagogical references.

Integration with Learning Theories

Variation Theory

Document how material creates patterns of variation:

\ltnote{%
  \textbf{Mönster}: Generalisering
  \textbf{Varierar}: Programmeringsspråk (Python vs Java)
  \textbf{Invariant}: Algoritmisk princip
}

Try-First Pedagogy

Explain when and why you ask students to attempt before explaining:

\ltnote{%
  Following try-first pedagogy, we ask students to predict the output
  before running the code. This creates a knowledge gap that makes the
  subsequent explanation more meaningful.
}

Cognitive Load Theory

Note considerations about cognitive load:

\ltnote{%
  We introduce only two parameters here to manage cognitive load.
  Additional parameters will be introduced after students master the
  basic pattern.
}

Semantic Environments

See references/semantic-environments.md for details.

Key environments: activity, exercise, question, remark, definition, example, block

Generalizations After Examples

Capture generalizations in semantic environments AFTER examples:

\begin{example}[Läsa fil]
  with open("data.txt", "r") as fil:
      innehåll = fil.read()
\end{example}

\begin{example}[Skriva fil]
  with open("data.txt", "w") as fil:
      fil.write(text)
\end{example}

\begin{remark}[Filhanteringsmönster]
  All filhantering följer: öppna → bearbeta → stäng.
\end{remark}

Beamer Patterns

See references/beamer-patterns.md for details.

Key Points

• Notes are hidden by default in slide builds
• Write expanded prose outside frame environments
• Use \only<article> / \only<presentation> for mixed content
• \textbytext* does NOT work inside frames—use mode splits

Side-by-Side Contrast (Beamer-compatible)

\begin{frame}
  \mode<presentation>{%
    \textbytext{%
      \begin{definition}[Primärminne]
        Flyktigt minne med snabb åtkomst.
      \end{definition}
    }{%
      \begin{definition}[Sekundärminne]
        Oflyktigt minne, långsammare.
      \end{definition}
    }
  }
  \mode<article>{%
    \textbytext*{%
      \begin{definition}[Primärminne]
        Flyktigt minne med snabb åtkomst.
      \end{definition}
    }{%
      \begin{definition}[Sekundärminne]
        Oflyktigt minne, långsammare.
      \end{definition}
    }
  }
\end{frame}

Verbose Environments

Split verbose content between presentation and article modes:

\mode<presentation>{%
  \begin{remark}[Title]
    \begin{itemize}
      \item Concise point 1
      \item Concise point 2
    \end{itemize}
  \end{remark}
}
\mode<article>{%
  \begin{remark}[Title]
    Full explanatory text with detailed reasoning...
  \end{remark}
}

Overlays with Didactic Environments

Wrap in uncoverenv (didactic environments don't support <overlay> directly):

\begin{uncoverenv}<1,3>
  \begin{definition}[Title]
    Content...
  \end{definition}
\end{uncoverenv}

Toggling Notes

\ltnoteon   % Show notes (default)
\ltnoteoff  % Hide notes

Best Practices

1. Write notes as you design - Don't wait until the end
2. Be specific - Reference particular activities, examples
3. Cite theory - Connect to established research
4. Think long-term - Write for someone years later
5. Question yourself - Why this order? Why this example?
6. Document failures - Note when designs don't work
7. Link to assessment - How will you know if students learned?
8. Keep notes focused - One clear point per note

Workflow

1. Plan learning objectives - What should students learn?
2. Design approach - How will you structure learning?
3. Write content with inline notes - Document reasoning as you write
4. Review notes - Check pedagogical rationale is clear
5. Test with students - Gather data mentioned in notes
6. Refine based on feedback - Update both content and notes

Complementary Skills

• variation-theory: Reference variation patterns in notes
• try-first-tell-later: Document try-first pedagogy
• literate-programming: Apply similar documentation principles to code
• latex-writing: Follow LaTeX best practices in documentation

Summary

Key insight: Literate programming explains code to humans; didactic notes explain pedagogical design to educators. Both make implicit reasoning explicit for future readers.