pedrohcgs/create-lecture

Lecture Creation Workflow

Create a beautiful, pedagogically excellent Beamer lecture deck.

This is a collaborative, iterative process. The instructor drives the vision; Claude is a thinking partner.

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CONSTRAINTS (Non-Negotiable)

1. Read the knowledge base FIRST — notation registry, narrative arc, applications database
2. Every new symbol MUST be checked against the notation registry
3. Motivation before formalism — no exceptions
4. Worked example within 2 slides of every definition
5. Max 2 colored boxes per slide
6. No \pause or overlay commands (check project rules)
7. Transition slides at major conceptual pivots
8. Thread at least 1 running empirical application throughout
9. All citations verified against the bibliography
10. Work in batches of 5-10 slides — share for feedback, don't bulk-dump

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WORKFLOW

Phase 0: Intake & Context

• Read knowledge base and creation guide
• Inventory provided materials (papers, slides, code)
• Read previous lecture's structure and ending
• State pedagogical goal, get user confirmation

First-lecture fallback (fresh fork, empty knowledge base). If .claude/rules/knowledge-base-template.md still has unfilled placeholder tables (no notation registry entries, no applications, no prior lectures in Slides/), do NOT halt waiting for it. Instead:

1. Acknowledge the template is empty and we're creating the course's first lecture.
2. Propose a minimal starter knowledge base from the user's topic: 5-8 key symbols with conventions, 1-2 running applications, a short narrative arc (intro → main idea → implications). Present for approval.
3. Write the approved stub into the knowledge base template so subsequent lectures inherit it.
4. Continue to Phase 1.

This prevents /create-lecture from deadlocking for every new forker.

Phase 1: Paper Analysis (When Papers Provided)

• Split into chunks, extract key ideas
• Map paper notation → course notation
• Identify slide-worthy content
• Present summary for approval

Phase 2: Structure Proposal

• Propose outline (5-Act or 3-Part template)
• List TikZ diagrams and R figures needed
• List new notation to introduce
• GATE: User approves before Phase 3

Phase 3: Draft Slides (Iterative)

• Work in batches of 5-10 slides
• Check notation, apply creation patterns
• Quality checks during drafting

Phase 4: Figures & Code

• R scripts following conventions
• TikZ diagrams in Beamer source (single source of truth)
• Save RDS for future Quarto integration

Phase 5: Polish & Compile

• Full 3-pass compilation
• Run Devil's Advocate
• Run Substance Review (if domain reviewer configured)
• Update knowledge base with new notation

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Post-Creation Checklist

[ ] Lecture compiles without errors
[ ] No overfull hbox > 10pt
[ ] All citations resolve
[ ] Every definition has motivation + worked example
[ ] Max 2 colored boxes per slide
[ ] 2-3 Socratic questions embedded
[ ] Transition slides between sections
[ ] At least 1 running application threaded throughout
[ ] New notation added to knowledge base
[ ] Session log updated
[ ] Devil's Advocate run