Khan Academy is rolling out two new features, Gem Challenges and Gem Jam, to make digital math practice collaborative. These tools shift the focus from individual screen time to collective, classroom-wide achievements. By turning skill practice into live games and monthly team goals, the platform aims to keep students engaged throughout the school year.
What Happened
According to the official Khan Academy announcement, the new system relies on "Gems" that students earn by proving they understand educational concepts. Gem Challenges allow students to pool their individual Gems toward a shared monthly classroom reward, such as a homework pass or free-choice time. At the same time, individual progress helps students unlock digital accessories for Khanmigo, the platform's AI teaching assistant.
For more immediate excitement, teachers can launch Gem Jam, a live, timed classroom game. The platform automatically splits the class into teams, and students race to advance their assigned lessons to "Proficient" status. A live leaderboard projected in the classroom tracks team progress in real time. Because the game only awards points for assigned curriculum, students cannot inflate their scores by repeating easy, completed lessons. During pilot testing in districts like Hanover Community School Corporation, administrators noted that the competitive format encouraged peer-to-peer accountability and kept students focused on their work.
The Bigger Picture
This collaborative shift builds on years of academic research. In 2015, Khan Academy partnered with PERTS, a Stanford University applied research center, to develop growth-mindset programs. Research from Carol Dweck’s Stanford studies shows that students perform better when they believe their intelligence can grow over time.
Measuring student growth through mastery rather than time spent on a computer aligns with modern pedagogy. Stanford math education professor Jo Boaler argues that traditional, speed-focused math instruction often causes children to fear the subject, while creative, visual problem-solving builds deeper comprehension. This is backed by a systematic review showing that mastery-based learning improves academic performance and learner motivation across diverse classrooms. A randomized pilot study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that high school students using mastery-based digital interventions achieved significantly higher mathematics scores than peers in traditional learning environments.
However, the live leaderboard aspect of Gem Jam introduces potential social risks. While brief, low-stakes digital review games can reduce exam anxiety and boost engagement, sustained public classroom competition has drawbacks. A systematic review published in Frontiers in Education warns that constant public rankings and reward systems can trigger student anxiety and decrease long-term intrinsic motivation.
What This Means for Families
For parents and educators, these tools offer a way to make math practice engaging without resorting to repetitive drill exercises. As we noted in our coverage of classroom consistency in school programs, maintaining structured, predictable environments is important for student development. If implemented carefully, Gem Jam can turn a stressful math block into a cooperative team effort. Because points are awarded for individual skill advancement rather than overall rank, a student working multiple grade levels behind can contribute just as much to the team's score as an advanced student.
What You Can Do
Parents and educators can take several steps to get the most out of these features. First, focus on progress over speed. Encourage children to celebrate leveling up a skill from "Beginning" to "Proficient," reminding them that learning is about growth, not finishing first. Second, keep competitions low-stakes. Teachers should run Gem Jams as occasional, fun reviews rather than daily high-pressure contests to avoid triggering classroom anxiety. Finally, tie digital goals to real-world rewards. Monthly Gem Challenges can help establish collaborative classroom incentives, like a pajama day or extra recess, to reinforce teamwork.