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Skill Path Container Standards

Description/Purpose

Skill Paths provide a short roadmap to help you master a new job-ready skill in just a few months. Whether you want to build something (e.g. a website) or achieve a short-term goal (e.g. use SQL at work), Skill Paths offer everything you need to gain a new skill within a few months. Each Skill Path contains an assorted list of content items designed to help you learn and practice real-world skills. (Adapted from the Codecademy Help Desk)

Place in Content

Skill Paths are the highest level container of Curriculum content (Path) and are the second to largest Curriculum product, smaller than Career Paths but larger than courses. Skill Paths are made up of Tracks, which in turn are made up of Modules containing assorted content items (including, but not limited to Informationals, Articles, Interactive Articles, Lessons, Quizzes, Videos, Practice Projects, Challenge Projects, and Portfolio Projects). Career Paths can be composed of multiple existing Skill Paths.

Quality Standards

The following sections are the standards. They should be presented in a checklist format. There are four primary categories.

Meta Data

  • Skill Path titles are consistent with a specific job skill. They start with a verb and end with a technology.
  • Examples:
    • Analyze Data with SQL
    • Build Websites with HTML, CSS, and GitHub Pages
    • Visualize Data with Python
  • Time to complete is roughly 2-3 months (Equivalent to 4-6 courses)
  • Path slug is unique and is easily identifiable

Content/Structure

  • Average amount of content:
    • Between 5-10 Tracks (average of 7), with anywhere between 11 to 30 total Modules (usually 2-5 per Track)
    • Equivalent to 4-6 courses
  • Intro Module:
    • First module of the first track of the path
    • Titled 'Welcome to the X Skill Path'
    • Includes an informational that introduces the Path and sets expectations for what they will accomplish (learning objectives and projects).
    • Content Standards (to be linked)
  • Review Module:
    • Last module of the last track of the path
    • This Module is titled, "Next Steps"
    • Includes an informational that congratulates them on what they've finished and includes resources for what to do and learn next
    • Content Standards (to be linked in another PR)
  • Track Introductory Modules:
    • Each Track starts with an introductory module containing one Informational content item, which contextualizes the Track's content, explaining why and how the information contributes to the larger career goal
    • Track naming convention: 'Introduction: [TRACK NAME]'
      • Ex: 'Introduction: JavaScript Syntax, Part I'
    • Read More: Track Introductory Module Content Standards
  • Track Review Module:
    • Each Track ends with a review module containing one Informational content item, which reviews the major concepts/skills covered in the Track, and reiterates why and how they contribute to the larger career goal. It also contains links to optional resources, external content that wasn't previously linked within the syllabus.
    • Track naming convention: 'Review: [TRACK NAME]'
      • Ex: 'Review: JavaScript Syntax, Part I'
    • Content Standards (to be linked in another PR)
  • Challenge Projects:
    • At least 2 (minimum 1 per course-amount-of-content) per Skill Path
    • Challenge Projects are on the Module level, meaning that each Challenge Project is within its own Module, or several Challenge Projects are grouped in one Module.
    • Module naming convention: '[PROJECT NAME]'
  • Portfolio Projects:
    • 1 per Skill Path - also referred to as 'Capstone' project
    • Portfolio Projects are on the Track level, meaning that each Portfolio Project is within its own Module, within its own Track. There may be multiple Portfolio Project Modules in one Track.
    • Track naming convention: '[SUBJECT AREA] Portfolio Project(s)'
    • Module naming convention: '[PROJECT NAME]'
  • External Resources:
    • Title matches the name of the content
      • Example: 'JSON Parse and Stringify'
    • Slug will start with ext-[RESOURCE TYPE] and then finish with the name of the content
      • Article: ext-art-
      • Video: ext-vid-
      • Book: ext-book-
      • Documentation: ext-doc-
      • Tutorial: ext-tut
      • Resource: ext-res
      • Example: ext-res-json-parse-and-stringify
      • Content standards (to be linked in another PR)
  • Optional content:
    • Optional content is included in the Review sections of Tracks

Editorial

  • Consistent tone throughout the Path Informationals (specifically, within the Introductory Track, Final Track, and Intro and Review Modules
  • No typos or grammatical errors

Pedagogy/Learner Experience

  • Teach real-world skills: this content teaches a person how to complete specific tasks related to job-ready skills in a relevant industry. As such, it requires proactive updates to ensure we are consistently teaching up-to-date versions of languages, libraries, and concepts.
    • Example: the Data Visualization with Python Skill Path prepares someone to create data visualizations using Python in a job that requires data analysis and communication.
  • Aggregate the content necessary to learn a specific skill: Skill Paths are a curated list of content necessary to learn a specific skill. They bring together separate courses and bridge the content through contextual information and projects.
  • Technology should be swappable: We should architect paths so that there is a higher-level architecture that can be repeated with a different technology stack.
    • Ex: we should be able to create both Interview Prep with JavaScript and Interview Prep with Java paths, by replacing modules and tracks where necessary.
    • Ex: Paths should include conceptual modules that teach higher-level concepts in a language-agnostic fashion, so these modules can be preserved across career paths
  • Content needs to be contextualized: Learners need additional context to understand how concepts and technologies work together in a larger picture, which is important for replacing in-person instruction. Use Intro and Review Modules on each track to clarify what a learner should expect to learn next and reinforce what they've previously learned.
  • Portfolio Projects: In addition to regular Practice Projects, Quizzes, and Challenge Projects, Learners complete multiple portfolio-worthy projects that prove their mastery (to themselves, and to others).
    • Note: Interview Skill Paths do not have these types of projects
  • Pass the Interview Skill Paths: In this specific sub-product, learners are taught the following topics: data structures, algorithms, and whiteboard interview techniques with a given language (JavaScript, Java, etc.). As of 2021Q1, these skill paths do not contain Portfolio Projects.
  • Award Certifications: Learners who complete required content in paths receive a certificate.
  • Quality Standards: all content meets the quality standards of their respective content type.

Examples

Here are several (but not all) of our Skill Paths: