> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.learningcommons.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> Overview of Agent Skills: open, research-backed skills that help AI assistants produce standards-aligned instructional materials.

## What Agent Skills do

Agent Skills are open, ready-to-use skills that help AI assistants produce high-quality, standards-aligned instructional materials for teachers.

Edtech developers and school district technologists can use Agent Skills to plan and differentiate lessons for teachers.

| Skill                                                                          | Description                                                                                                                                                         |
| :----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| [K-12 Lesson Planning](/agent-skills/skills/k12-lesson-planning)               | Builds classroom-ready, standards-aligned lesson plans, optionally aligned to a teacher's curriculum                                                                |
| [K-12 Lesson Differentiation](/agent-skills/skills/k12-lesson-differentiation) | Adapts an existing lesson into tiered versions (below, at, or above proficiency level) and for specific student needs, keeping core content consistent across tiers |

Agent Skills are grounded in learning science and can leverage [Knowledge Graph](/knowledge-graph/understanding-knowledge-graph/introduction) to produce standards-aligned results.

<Note>
  Explore [Use cases](/agent-skills/understanding-agent-skills/use-cases) for
  Agent Skills when developing edtech products or streamlining district and
  classroom workflows.
</Note>

## How to access Agent Skills

Agent Skills are cross-platform and model-agnostic. They can be used with any agent runtime that supports the [open Agent Skills format](https://agentskills.io/) ↗:

* Claude Code
* Cursor
* Codex

Check out the [GitHub repository](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills) ↗ to inspect skill instructions, reference files, scripts, and rubrics directly.

## Our approach

Our initial set of Agent Skills and evaluator rubrics was co-developed with [Anthropic](https://www.anthropic.com/) ↗.

These skills don't just generate plausible-looking materials — they're grounded in research-backed principles and refined with expert practitioners.

| Principle     | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| :------------ | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Pedagogy**  | Outputs reflect sound instructional design.<ul><li>Standards alignment</li><li>Prerequisite and forward connections</li><li>Appropriate instructional model</li><li>Discourse structures</li><li>Attention to student struggle</li><li>Visual and representational choices</li></ul> |
| **Rigor**     | Outputs maintain grade-level cognitive demand                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| **Usability** | Outputs are classroom-ready and default to universal design                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |

## Related topics

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Use cases" icon="lightbulb" href="/agent-skills/understanding-agent-skills/use-cases">
    Explore product, district, and classroom workflows for Agent Skills.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Core concepts" icon="lightbulb" href="/agent-skills/understanding-agent-skills/core-concepts">
    Learn how skills, rubrics, and the P/R/O/M framework work together.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quickstart" icon="rocket" href="/agent-skills/getting-started/quickstart">
    Install skills, connect Knowledge Graph, and try example prompts.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>