GitHub Copilot Teaching Modes

Disclaimer: The content generated by AI may not always be accurate or appropriate. Please review and verify all information before using it for teaching or learning purposes.

Chat modes

This project provides multiple custom chat modes for GitHub Copilot, each designed to help you learn and practice different skills:

• Teach Biology: An interactive biology teacher bot for learning biological concepts, processes, and laboratory techniques with a focus on safety. Learn more →
• Teach Chemistry: An interactive chemistry teacher bot for learning chemical concepts, reactions, and laboratory techniques with a focus on safety. Learn more →
• Teach Chess: An interactive chess teacher bot for learning chess fundamentals, tactics, strategy, and openings. Learn more →
• Teach Go: An interactive Go (Weiqi/Baduk) teacher bot for learning Go fundamentals, tactics, strategy, and patterns with OGS integration. Learn more →
• Teach Math: A mathematics teacher bot for learning math concepts, problem-solving, and computational math projects. Learn more →
• Teach Music: An interactive music theory teacher bot for learning musical concepts, theory, and composition. Learn more →
• Teach Physics: An interactive physics teacher for learning physics concepts, problem-solving, and computational physics projects. Learn more →
• Teach Programming: An interactive programming teacher for learning coding concepts, best practices, and hands-on projects. Learn more →

Features

All chat modes offer:

• Adaptive Explanations: Adjust to your knowledge level
• Quiz Mode: Test your understanding interactively
• Project Mode: Guided, hands-on learning
• Multi-Tool Integration: Web search, code execution, file reading)

Examples

Here are 10 example prompts to help you get started:

1. Show me the starting chess board. (Teach Chess)
2. What is the quadratic formula? (Teach Math)
3. How do I write a "Hello, World!" program in Python? (Teach Programming)
4. What is Newton's second law? (Teach Physics)
5. Show me the Lewis structure for water. (Teach Chemistry)
6. What are the main parts of a plant cell? (Teach Biology)
7. What are the notes in a C major scale? (Teach Music)
8. Create a lesson plan on the Pythagorean theorem for 8th grade. (Teach Math, lesson planning)
9. Adapt the explanation of ionic and covalent bonds for a 5th grader. (Teach Chemistry, individualized/grade level)
10. Test my knowledge of algebra with 3 questions at a 9th grade level. (Teach Math, grade consistency)

Installation

Prerequisites

• VS Code version 1.101 or later (custom chat modes are in preview)
• GitHub Copilot subscription (Individual, Business, or Enterprise)
• VS Code with GitHub Copilot extension installed
• Access to GitHub Copilot Chat

Installing Custom Chat Modes

1. Clone or Download this Repository

   git clone https://github.com/mnriem/github-copilot-for-teaching.git
   cd github-copilot-for-teaching

2. Install the Chat Modes

   VS Code supports custom chat modes through .chatmode.md files. This repository is configured to automatically expose all available chat modes:

   Option A: Use This Repository Directly (Recommended)

   • All chat modes in this repository are automatically available when you have it open in VS Code
   • VS Code discovers all modes in the .github/chatmodes/ directory
   • No additional installation steps required!

   Option B: Copy to Your Own Project (Workspace-level)

   • Copy the entire .github/chatmodes/ directory to your own repository
   • All chat modes (*.chatmode.md files) in that directory will be available in your project

   Option C: User Profile Installation (Cross-workspace)

   • Copy any .chatmode.md files you want to your VS Code user profile folder
   • This makes those chat modes available across all your workspaces
   • Use the Command Palette: "Chat: New Mode File" and select "User profile"

3. Restart VS Code (if needed)

   • If you copied files manually, restart VS Code to ensure the new chat modes are loaded
   • For Option A, modes should be immediately available when opening this repository

4. Verify Installation

   • Open GitHub Copilot Chat (Ctrl+Shift+I / Cmd+Shift+I on macOS, Ctrl+Alt+I on Windows/Linux)
   • Click the chat mode dropdown at the top of the Chat view
   • All installed chat modes should appear in the list
   • Select your desired mode to activate it

Usage

After installation, you can activate any chat mode:

1. Mode Dropdown: Open the Chat view and select your desired mode (e.g., "Teach Programming", "Teach Math", or "Teach Physics") from the chat mode dropdown
2. Command Palette: Use "Chat: Switch Chat Mode" and select your desired mode
3. Automatic Discovery: All modes are available when this repository is open

Teaching Modes Available

1. Explanation Mode (Default)

• Clear, level-appropriate explanations
• Uses examples and analogies
• Adapts to your current knowledge level

2. Quiz Mode

• Interactive questions to test your understanding
• Immediate feedback and explanations

3. Project Mode

• Step-by-step project building
• Explanations for each step and code component
• Encourages best practices

Customization & Troubleshooting

Customization and troubleshooting instructions are specific to each chat mode. See the README for your selected mode.

Contributing

Feel free to contribute improvements to this teaching mode:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Submit a pull request with your enhancements

License

This project is open source and available under the MIT License.

Support

For issues or questions:

• Create an issue in this repository
• Check GitHub Copilot documentation for general chat mode support
• Review VS Code extension troubleshooting guides

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Happy Learning! 🚀

Transform your learning journey with personalized, intelligent instruction in programming, math, physics, chemistry, biology, and more—powered by GitHub Copilot's multiple chat modes.