TEACHING COMPANION / NO ACCOUNT NEEDED
Name the Problem
The facts are in. What counts as a problem?
Representation, problem definition & political judgment · About 50 min · allow time for reflection
Learning goals
- Distinguish an observed pattern from a political interpretation.
- Make a democratic benchmark and unit of comparison explicit.
- Respond to a challenge without concealing revision.
Before the activity
Choose the comparative case for this course. Core or Full guidance is available.
Syllabus description
Take a seat in a citizens’ assembly. Turn a pattern into a public argument, defend your benchmark and answer a challenge. Leave with a poster and the reasoning behind it. Students produce public poster plus separate reasoning/revision report.
Discussion prompts
- What value made this pattern a problem?
- Would another denominator change your public interpretation?
What to assess
Assess the evidence and benchmark behind the interpretation. Review the report as well as the poster.
Limitations
Reasonable interpretations can differ. Completion and a polished poster do not establish the quality of the argument.
Credit & permissions
Created by Yoav Duman. Free educational use, sharing and hosted embedding; software rights reserved. Software, artwork, branding and third-party materials are separate; see the full reuse information.
Suggested citation: Yoav Duman, “Name the Problem: Teaching companion,” Possible States, https://possiblestates.com/teaching/name-the-problem. Include your access date.
ASSESSMENT & SUBMISSION
Grade the explanation.
The interface has no opinion.
Set an endpoint, ask for the activity’s readable report, and use your existing LMS. Students can use Print / Save as PDF where a separate download is not offered. A progress backup is for restoring work, not grading it.
A suggested 10-point rubric
For each criterion: 0 = absent, 1 = partial, 2 = clear and supported. Adapt the weighting to your course; this is guidance, not automatic scoring.
- Concepts / 2
- Use the relevant political concept accurately.
- Evidence / 2
- Support a claim with a specific record or comparison.
- Mechanism / 2
- Explain how the rule or arrangement produces a consequence.
- Revision / 2
- Address a rival account or explain a change of mind.
- Limits / 2
- State what the model or evidence cannot establish.
Say this before they begin.
- Choose For class and follow the instructor’s endpoint.
- Save a progress backup before moving devices or changing website address.
- Open the readable report and check the required responses.
- Upload it to the course assignment. Check the LMS submission confirmation.
Switching from exploration keeps the current work, but skipped class responses may still need completing. A local report cannot establish authorship or make an activity tamper-proof.
Prepare an assignment to share.
Edit this text, then copy it into Canvas or your course website. These edits stay in this tab.
Syllabus description & discussion prompts
Syllabus description
Take a seat in a citizens’ assembly. Turn a pattern into a public argument, defend your benchmark and answer a challenge. Leave with a poster and the reasoning behind it. Students produce public poster plus separate reasoning/revision report.
Questions for a discussion board or class debrief
- What value made this pattern a problem?
- Would another denominator change your public interpretation?