Professor Jeff Jackson Presents Interactive Lecture at Kansas State, with Students "Forming" the Articles of Confederation

Photograph: Jeffrey JacksonWashburn Law Professor Jeffrey D. Jackson presented an interactive lecture at Kansas State University on September 4, giving students the opportunity to relive the formation of the United States of America by having the opportunity to form the Articles of Confederation.

“Learning is better when it’s interactive,” Jackson was quoted as saying in the Kansas State Collegian. “It’s better than me telling you that nation-building is hard.”

According to the Kansas State Collegian: "Each person was given a state to represent and list of incentives, or various things their state would want in a government. Players received negative points if the policy debates were not decided in their favor. In the end, the states had to come together and agree on the terms of their new government and decide whether or not to join.

"Jackson said Wednesday night’s run-through was one of the best simulations he had seen. Every state managed to end with positive points and only Pennsylvania decided to abstain from the federal government and become their own nation. The best simulation he had ever seen occurred in the Soviet Republic of Georgia and took at least seven hours to complete. K-State’s game only lasted for one hour, with the states debating and compromising until an agreement was reached."

Read the entire Kansas State Collegian article here: Guest speaker utilizes interactive lecture element