rootnode-academy/docs/ROOT_PILOT_CURRICULUM.md

ROOT Pilot Curriculum — Authoritative Manifest

This is the single authoritative answer to "what are we actually teaching in the first paid pilot." It uses honest READY / PARTIAL / DEFERRED / NOT IN PILOT labels — nothing here is marketed as more finished than it is. See docs/ROOT_PILOT_READINESS_STANDARD.md for what READY means and docs/ROOT11_DEVOPS_PLATFORM_SCOPE.md for the ROOT 11 scope decision referenced below.

Pilot delivery mode: instructor-led (cohort-based)

The first pilot is scoped as instructor-led, not fully self-paced. Every module below that is marked READY meets the self-paced bar (no "your instructor will explain this" gaps). A smaller set of modules — flagged explicitly — are READY for instructor-led delivery only, because they are dense hands-on practice banks whose sibling module in the same course already carries the taught concept; running them live lets an instructor supply framing a self-paced student wouldn't get. Fully self-paced delivery of those specific modules is deferred to a future phase pending an authored teaching layer for each. See Section 16 discussion below.

Program: ROOT_ (root-kubernetes-foundations)

Course	Pilot status	Notes
ROOT 01 Computing & Linux Foundations	IN PILOT (added Phase 6D)	Fully authored, READY — 6 modules, real hands-on Linux Labs, a wired assessment. See docs/PHASE6D_ROOT_FOUNDATIONS.md.
ROOT 02 Linux Administration & Networking	NOT IN PILOT	Architecture designed (docs/ROOT_FOUNDATIONS_ARCHITECTURE.md), content not yet authored.
ROOT 03 Git & Collaborative Development	NOT IN PILOT	Architecture designed, content not yet authored.
ROOT 04 Containers & Docker	NOT IN PILOT	Architecture designed; its platform extension (nested Docker Engine) is built and tested, content not yet authored.
ROOT 05 Kubernetes Foundations	IN PILOT	See modules below.
ROOT 06 Kubernetes Application Workloads	IN PILOT	See modules below.
ROOT 07 Kubernetes Networking & Configuration	IN PILOT	See modules below.
ROOT 08 Kubernetes Storage & Scheduling	DEFERRED — optional supplementary	Does not gate the capstone (rootnode-path.json's six stages never included storage/scheduling). Both modules remain PARTIAL (lesson+knowledge-check only, no demo/guided/reflection). Offer as optional supplementary content to instructors who want it; do not count it in the pilot's required completion path.
ROOT 09 Kubernetes Security	IN PILOT	See modules below.
ROOT 10 Kubernetes Troubleshooting & Observability	IN PILOT	See modules below.
ROOT 11 DevOps & Platform Engineering	IN PILOT — orientation only	Lesson-only closing module. Hands-on GitOps/CI-CD/IaC/Observability content explicitly deferred; see scope doc.
ROOT 12 Real Ops	IN PILOT	READY.
ROOT Capstone	IN PILOT	READY.

Module-level detail (courses IN pilot only)

ROOT 01 — Computing & Linux Foundations (added Phase 6D)

Module	Status	Prerequisite	Outcome	Delivery	Required/Optional	Labs/Assessment
root-01-m01-how-computers-run-software	READY	none (program entry point)	Explain the hardware/kernel/application layering; inspect a real machine's resources	Self-paced or instructor-led	4 required	1 lab
root-01-m02-linux-and-the-shell	READY	m01	Read exit codes; use tab completion/history/man pages	Self-paced or instructor-led	6 required	1 lab
root-01-m03-navigating-the-filesystem	READY	m02	Navigate absolute/relative paths; explain top-level directories	Self-paced or instructor-led	6 required	1 lab
root-01-m04-files-and-text	READY	m03	Manipulate files; filter text with grep/pipes/redirection	Self-paced or instructor-led	6 required	1 lab
root-01-m05-processes	READY	m04	Inspect and correctly terminate a real process	Self-paced or instructor-led	6 required	1 lab
root-01-m06-users-and-permissions-foundations	READY	m05	Apply rwx permissions and the least-privilege principle	Self-paced or instructor-led	7 required	1 lab + ROOT 01 Linux Foundations Assessment (6-scenario timed exam)

ROOT 05 — Kubernetes Foundations

Module	Status	Prerequisite	Outcome	Delivery	Required/Optional	Labs/Assessment
root-05-m00-kubernetes-mental-model	READY	none	Explain desired vs. actual state; run first kubectl commands	Self-paced or instructor-led	6 required	1 lab
root-05-m01-pods-and-kubectl-basics	READY	m00	Broad kubectl command fluency (labels, JSONPath, patch, dry-run, etc.)	Self-paced or instructor-led (lesson+reflection added Phase 6C)	22 required	20 labs/MCQs

ROOT 06 — Kubernetes Application Workloads

Module	Status	Prerequisite	Outcome	Delivery	Required/Optional	Labs/Assessment
root-06-m02-deployments-scaling-updates	READY	ROOT 05	Scale and roll out/back Deployments with confidence	Self-paced or instructor-led	7 required	1 lab
root-06-m03-jobs-cronjobs-daemonsets	READY	m02	Choose the correct workload primitive for a given job	Self-paced or instructor-led (upgraded Phase 6C)	7 required	2 labs
root-06-m01-deployments-and-workloads	PARTIAL — instructor-led only	ROOT 05	Deeper Deployment practice bank (8 tasks, no bookending lesson)	Instructor-led only this pilot; self-paced deferred	8 required	8 labs

ROOT 07 — Kubernetes Networking & Configuration

Module	Status	Prerequisite	Outcome	Delivery	Required/Optional	Labs/Assessment
root-07-m03-services-and-service-discovery	READY	ROOT 06	Explain Service types and discovery	Self-paced or instructor-led	6 required	1 lab
root-07-m02-configuration-and-secrets	READY	m03	Choose ConfigMap vs. Secret vs. env var vs. volume correctly	Self-paced or instructor-led (new lesson/demo/KC/guided/reflection Phase 6C)	10 required	5 labs
root-07-m04-ingress-networkpolicy-foundations	READY	m02	Trace request routing through Ingress; plan network isolation	Self-paced or instructor-led (upgraded Phase 6C)	7 required	2 labs
root-07-m01-services-and-networking	PARTIAL — instructor-led only	ROOT 06	Deeper Services/networking practice bank (4 tasks, no bookending lesson)	Instructor-led only this pilot; self-paced deferred	4 required	4 labs

ROOT 09 — Kubernetes Security

Module	Status	Prerequisite	Outcome	Delivery	Required/Optional	Labs/Assessment
root-09-m01-security-model-and-securitycontext	READY	ROOT 07	Harden a Pod's SecurityContext with reasoning, not memorization	Self-paced or instructor-led	9 required + 3 optional	labs
root-09-m02-serviceaccounts-and-rbac	READY	m01	Write least-privilege RBAC	Self-paced or instructor-led (upgraded Phase 6C)	10 required + 1 optional	6 labs
root-09-m03-network-and-supplychain-security	READY	m02	Apply default-deny NetworkPolicy and supply-chain controls	Self-paced or instructor-led (upgraded Phase 6C)	9 required + 2 optional	6 labs
root-09-m04-cluster-hardening-and-runtime	READY (survey depth, documented exception)	m03	Survey-level exposure to runtime/cluster hardening topics, checked with a real assessment	Self-paced or instructor-led	4 required + 2 optional	4 labs + RootNode Kubernetes Security Assessment (9-scenario timed exam)

ROOT 10 — Kubernetes Troubleshooting & Observability

Module	Status	Prerequisite	Outcome	Delivery	Required/Optional	Labs/Assessment
root-10-m01-health-probes-and-troubleshooting	READY	ROOT 09	Configure and diagnose liveness/readiness probes	Self-paced or instructor-led	6 required + 1 optional	1 required lab + 1 optional lab (readiness-probe-task, wired Phase 6C)
root-10-m03-troubleshooting-framework	READY	m01	Apply the seven-step Observe→Evidence→...→Prevent-Recurrence framework to novel failures	Self-paced or instructor-led (upgraded Phase 6C)	7 required	2 labs
root-10-m02-general-troubleshooting	PARTIAL — instructor-led only	m01	Deeper troubleshooting practice bank (6 tasks, no bookending lesson)	Instructor-led only this pilot; self-paced deferred	6 required	6 labs

ROOT 11 — DevOps & Platform Engineering

Module	Status	Prerequisite	Outcome	Delivery	Required/Optional	Labs/Assessment
root-11-m01-devops-platform-thinking	PARTIAL (honest, lesson-only by design)	ROOT 10 (course-level gate)	Name DevOps/platform engineering practices already exercised in ROOT 05-10/12; understand what's still missing for GitOps/CI-CD/IaC/observability	Self-paced or instructor-led	3 required	none — orientation only

ROOT 12 — Real Ops

Module	Status	Prerequisite	Outcome	Delivery	Required/Optional	Labs/Assessment
root-12-m01-real-ops-incidents	READY (documented exception — deliberately unguided by design)	ROOT 10	Run structured incident response without a hint system	Instructor-led recommended for first exposure; self-paced viable given deliberate design	6 required	4 incident labs

ROOT Capstone

Module	Status	Prerequisite	Outcome	Delivery	Required/Optional	Labs/Assessment
root-capstone-m02-capstone-readiness	READY	ROOT 12	Confirm readiness before attempting the capstone	Self-paced or instructor-led	4 required	checklist/prep activities
root-capstone-m01-operate-and-recover	READY (documented exception — the capstone IS the module)	m02 + capstone unlock gate	Operate and recover a production-like environment under real ops discipline	Instructor-observed recommended	1 required	capstone exam

Instructor prep requirements

Every module marked "instructor-led only" or "instructor-led recommended" above requires the instructor to have read that module's Instructor Notes section (timing, misconceptions, discussion prompts) before delivering it live — this content already exists for every upgraded module (see docs/ROOT_PILOT_READINESS_STANDARD.md checklist item 6). No additional instructor-only prep material was created outside the per-activity Instructor Notes.

What is intentionally NOT in the first pilot

• ROOT 02-04 (architecture designed in Phase 6D, content not yet authored — ROOT 01 IS now in the pilot, added Phase 6D).
• ROOT 08 Kubernetes Storage & Scheduling (non-capstone-gating; both modules remain PARTIAL).
• ROOT 11 modules 2-7 (GitOps, CI/CD, IaC, hands-on Observability, hands-on Reliability) — see scope doc.
• Fully self-paced delivery of root-06-m01, root-07-m01, and root-10-m02 specifically — these three run instructor-led in the first pilot; self-paced delivery for exactly these three modules is deferred pending an authored teaching layer for each.
• cluster-upgrade-mcq and etcd-backup-mcq (Cluster Administration category) — no current ROOT module teaches kubeadm-based cluster administration or etcd backup/restore; these two scenarios stay unwired pending a future Cluster Administration module, not due to neglect.

Bottom line

Every module the pilot's required completion path depends on (ROOT 01, 05-07, 09-10, 12, Capstone) meets the READY bar for instructor-led delivery, and ROOT 01's self-paced readiness was verified explicitly (see docs/PHASE6D_ROOT_FOUNDATIONS.md). Three specific modules run instructor-led only this pilot. ROOT 02-04, ROOT 08, and most of ROOT 11 are explicitly out of the required path. Given that scope, the pilot curriculum, delivered instructor-led, is ready.