Name the Problem | Original instructor overview

Possible States edition. Play is free and needs no account. Responses and backups stay on the student’s device. Use the report/export controls to create a readable record, then submit it through your course system. This edition does not use online drafts, class codes, instructor login or automatic submission. Any older hosted-workflow directions in a linked original download do not apply. Open the simulation · Activity overview

Students develop and defend a public interpretation: name a pattern, compare two source graphs, respond to a framing challenge, and decide what deserves attention. Evidence constrains their claims; a benchmark and political value connect their interpretation to action, inquiry, or monitoring. First attempts and later reasoning remain visible in the full report.

• Ask what kind of claim is being made and what support the graphs provide. A possible explanation can be plausible yet untested; an unsupported conclusion expresses more certainty than the evidence allows.

• Keep, qualify, or replace a sound first interpretation. Write a final public statement for the poster and a separate brief reason for that choice; changing your mind does not automatically earn more credit.

• Defend action, inquiry, or monitoring with an actor, a limitation, and a reconsideration condition.

For a 50-minute class, plan 3 minutes to introduce the task, 30 for solo play, 12 for discussion, and 5 for saving and submission. Core and Full keep every stage; Core invites shorter responses. The 25- and 37-minute play estimates need student piloting.

Ask for the full PDF report or response text uploaded to Canvas. Printing and downloading do not submit work. The poster is a communication product; the JSON backup restores progress. Have students keep backups and recovery keys private.

Suggested weights: chart reading and comparison 30 percent; evidence and inference 30 percent; political reasoning 30 percent; clarity and reflection 10 percent. Review open responses and the new-chart challenge; successful claim sorting alone is not mastery. Assess evidence and justified reasoning, not policy agreement, amount of prose, artistic skill, or willingness to change a sound answer. Badges indicate recorded steps.

The Complaints Department asks whether a public reply answers a resident’s question, what the evidence establishes, and what useful response should follow. Name the Problem asks students to choose and defend a public interpretation, benchmark, and political priority. Each works independently.

For a two-class sequence, assign Complaints’ Earnings file first, then congressional representation in US Government or the democracy case in Comparative Politics during another meeting. Bridge them with two questions: what kind of claim is being made, and what support does the evidence provide? Debrief which judgment carried over and which required a value. Avoid assigning both full activities in one session.

Instructor controls adjust instructions, available cases, default guidance, and badges. Historical source dates and limitations stay visible; simulation values and artwork are not empirical evidence.