eduPLAYnation

What is eduPLAYnation?

eduPLAYnation is an online platform that hosts task conflicts, a STEM application that puts social studies into the foreground of literacy instruction. This novel approach uses human connection to spark connection, putting every learner into the heart of the game!

How Do You Play a JAM ?

Follow these steps to play any and every JAM, 50-minute task conflicts that will transform your social studies classroom into an extraordinary learning lab. 1 BOOKLET Each JAM has an optional Pre-Game Warmup that presents a unique schema, embedded vocabulary & reflections to frame learning ahead of a JAM. Highly recommended, not essential. Download & print.

What’s the point of playing a JAM?

The primary goal of playing a JAM is learning how to layer viewpoints before forming a response. JAMs look like fun and games (they are!) but the point of gaming is to create pathways that support higher order thinking: impulse control; skilled reading & writing; verbal reasoning; and background knowledge. Taken together, increased perspective defined as taking all relevant data into account.

History is a delicate subject. Are JAMs safe?

Yes! JAMs are a celebration of our democratic republic; an extraordinary mosaic of different people, cultures, languages and religions. Of course, it's only natural that we've clashed from time to time, which is why we built these games: to explore the tangled roots of our shared humanity. In that spirit, eduPLAYnation neither lionizes nor demonizes historical figures.

"Task conflicts" sound intense. Are you sure JAMs belong in upper elementary?

We're positive. We tested JAMs with every age group from 10-70 and found they work brilliantly everywhere! In contrast to "emotional" conflicts, JAMs are gentle, inclusive, and exhaustive. Who doesn't wanna learn how to JAM?(Note, elders at beta sides reported feeling angry their history classes were mired in myth and void of complexity).