pbl-loop

PBL Loop (v0.1)

Use this skill for capability-learning loops in real work. It is host-neutral and dependency-free.

Trigger and boundary

Trigger only when the user explicitly requests:

• a learning goal or capability-development objective,
• reflection on what was learned versus what was delivered,
• transfer, teaching, or replication against an adjacent problem,
• a PBL-style growth loop in project context.

Do not trigger for:

• routine project status updates,
• delivery planning without learning/evidence intent,
• generic study explanations,
• final completion checks without a capability loop,
• requests to change project truth or governance state directly.

Keep exactly three modes: start, checkpoint, transfer.

Start response contract (mandatory)

Treat start as a learning contract, not a full project plan.

If any key context is missing for:

• delivery goal,
• capability goal,
• evidence context,

complete the mandatory schema with explicit unknown values, then ask exactly one focused question. Do not ask additional questions or add a full project plan. The response must end with that question.

When context is sufficient:

• preserve the exact user delivery goal,
• record one bounded user-facing capability goal,
• keep all non-user-supplied details out of evidence fields,
• never invent counts, durations, thresholds, percentages, score bands, windows, deadlines, or acceptance gates,
• mark assistant additions as source_status: proposed and never convert them into hard requirements.

Core invariants (v0.1)

• This skill is host-neutral. It does not require a specific host, CLI, MCP, fixed filesystem path, state backend, or external platform account.
• It does not require host metadata or proprietary runtimes.
• Preserve the real project delivery goal from user context. If unavailable, set delivery_goal to unknown and set status explicitly.
• Use item-level source_status for each goal, requirement, proposal, unknown, and evidence item:
  • user_stated
  • unknown
  • proposed
• Use item-level evidence_status for each evidence item:
  • observed
  • inferred
  • confirmed
  • unknown
• Track assistance_provenance for every claim/step:
  • human
  • ai_reasoning
  • ai_tool
  • external_evidence
• Distinguish evidence classes:
  • delivery evidence: shipped outputs, tests, artifacts, schedules, outcomes, acceptance signals.
  • capability evidence: repeatability, reasoning quality, transfer performance, teachability.
• Default operation is conversation-only and stateless.
• If the user authorizes persistence, store only user-approved notes in a user/host-selected project-local location.
• Never overwrite prior project truth.

Four cognitive quadrants (state model)

Use these labels only for first-person capability/mastery claims, never for project status.

1. known-known: user-confirmed capability with sufficient repeated, independent, or transfer evidence.
2. known-unknown: named capability gap with defined test path but insufficient proof.
3. unknown-known: repeated behavior indicates likely capability not yet recognized.
4. unknown-unknown: anomaly or gap with no clear shape/test path yet.

Rules:

• Move from unknown-known only when behavior suggests likely capability and is explicitly documented.
• Move to known-unknown only when a gap is named and testable.
• Move to known-known only after user-confirmed repeatable and transferable evidence.

Output schema (mandatory, all modes)

For every mode response, keep these top-level fields:

• mode
• delivery_goal
• learning_goal
• user_stated_requirements
• assistant_proposals
• unknowns
• assistance_provenance
• capability_debt
• next_deliberate_challenge
• quadrant_before and/or quadrant_after
• delivery_evidence
• capability_evidence

Each delivery_goal, learning_goal, user_stated_requirements, assistant_proposals, unknowns, delivery_evidence, and capability_evidence item must retain:

• source_status
• evidence_status
• assistance_provenance

assistant_proposals should be empty when no proposal is needed; otherwise every proposal item must be clearly marked with source_status: proposed.

mode: start

Minimum required fields:

• mode
• delivery_goal
• learning_goal
• quadrant_before
• user_stated_requirements
• assistant_proposals
• unknowns
• assistance_provenance
• capability_debt
• next_deliberate_challenge
• delivery_evidence
• capability_evidence

Start logic:

1. Restate the delivery goal with explicit status. If absent, set delivery_goal: unknown.
2. Set one bounded first-person capability goal.
3. Set baseline quadrant_before only for that capability claim.
4. Add user facts to user_stated_requirements, missing context into unknowns.
5. Put assistant additions in assistant_proposals with source_status: proposed.
6. Keep delivery_evidence and capability_evidence as empty lists when no evidence is available; never omit the mandatory fields.
7. If key context is still missing, end the response with exactly one focused question.

mode: checkpoint

1. Carry forward the delivery goal and previous schema context.
2. Add delivery/capability evidence updates and evidence status.
3. Set quadrant_after to show capability movement.
4. Keep capability_debt explicit.
5. Set next_deliberate_challenge and any decision needed before continuation.

mode: transfer

1. Carry forward the delivery goal from context; do not redefine it as the transfer task.
2. Define one bounded adjacent problem in the same capability family.
3. Enforce original-answer leakage control and avoid revealing prior exact wording/artifacts.
4. Evaluate transfer for adaptability, explanation quality, and reuse.
5. Update quadrant_before/quadrant_after and capability_debt.
6. Use evidence_status for transfer judgments.

Anti-fabrication rule

• Do not fabricate counts, durations, percentages, score bands, 24-hour windows, full intervention plans, or acceptance gates when missing.
• Use unknown or proposed states instead of invented concrete values.

Fail-closed rule

Delivery polish and intervention quality do not prove capability. Capability claims still require evidence status and quadrant movement updates.

Optional companion note

FlowGrid (https://github.com/dlxeva/FlowGrid) is optional and only for durable cross-session judgment state when the user explicitly chooses it.