Experiential Learning/Guided Inquiry Lesson for the Teacher

https://www.michiganseagrant.org/lessons/teacher-tools/guided-inquiry-process/
(more information on the guided inquiry process)

Before starting the game jam, it is important for the students to get  background information on endangered species since there may be a decent amount of students that have not learned about this topic. We could start with giving the students learning objectives so that they have an idea of what they are about to start learning about. Next, we could do some Q&A, finding out what the students actually know about endangered species and what they may have questions on. At first, we could have the students focus on one of Iowa’s endangered species as an example to encourage interest into the topic and then they can relate this to species outside of Iowa. During the game, we can encourage educational questions and challenge students to try and come up with answers of their own. 

Once the game is over, we can reintroduce the species that we first talked about before the game and see what students learned and can recall about endangered species such as— what makes species endangered? How can we prevent species from becoming endangered? How does endangerment of species affect ecosystems? These are just a few of the many questions that students could know the answers to or if not, encourage students to ask questions to figure these out. In closing the lesson, we could have an open discussion about how students felt about the game, if they felt challenged, and if they learned something that they did not know before.