learning-planlisted

Learning fails from three causes: no clear end state, resources consumed in the wrong order, and no retrieval practice. A plan fixes all three before the first hour is spent. The plan is measured by what the learner can do, not by what they have read. ## Step 1: define the goal as a test Write the goal as something the learner will do at the end, observable and dated: "By 30 Nov, implement and evaluate a retrieval-augmented pipeline on my thesis dataset and explain each design choice to my supervisor." If the stated goal is "understand X", ask what they would do with the understanding until it becomes a task. Derive the sub-skills the test requires (usually four to eight). These are the units. ## Step 2: locate the learner Current level per sub-skill (none, some, working, solid), from what they say and, when possible, a two-minute probe question per unit. Prerequisites missing become the first units. Skip what is already solid; a plan that re-teaches the known is abandoned by week two. ## Step 3: choose resources One **primary** resource per unit (a chapter, a course module, a paper, official docs), chosen for being the canonical or best-explained source, not the most popular. One **practice** source per unit (exercises, a small build, a dataset). Optional **reference** links. No unit has more than three resources; the learner should never be choosing what to read. For a research field: the survey paper first, then the two or three foundational papers, then the recent