Download the Team WILD Teachers` notes

Team WILD - Teachers’ Notes
‘Team WILD’ is a fast-paced online game from ARKive (www.arkive.org). Designed to bring the natural
world to young people on the platforms with which they are most familiar, Team WILD is a unique way for
students to discover the global importance of choosing a career in science and conservation - showing
that scientists are true superheroes.
Play Team WILD
From jungle to savannah, rainforests to coral reefs, Team WILD introduces students to why it is necessary
for scientists to monitor, survey and conserve the world’s biodiversity.
Team WILD’s four missions – collecting uninfected frogs from the rainforests of Montserrat to save them
from the deadly chytrid fungus, surveying the health of coral reefs in Chagos, planting native guapuruvu
trees as part of a reforestation project in Brazil’s Atlantic forest, and surveying predator/prey dynamics in
the African savannah – are all based around four real science and conservation jobs undertaken by
scientists around the world.
Team WILD is intended to facilitate students’ discovery of new science careers and the diversity of field
tasks a conservation scientist must do in order to protect the world’s species and habitats, while also
acting as a ‘hook’ for engaging them in wider discussion around some of the topics touched on in the
game.
While the mini-games themselves aren't meant to teach science, each Team WILD mission is stand-alone
and has its own dedicated topic page that provides information related to the theme of each game,
including overviews of amphibian and coral conservation, reforestation, and predator-prey relationships,
as well as sections on the ‘real science’ behind the conservation jobs that inspired each mini-game.
Each of the four topic pages also provides links to other related teaching resources from ARKive
Education, as well as links to additional topic pages, related images, videos and news stories to support
learning in the classroom.
Learn more about the science behind the four Team WILD mini-games:
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Amphibian conservation
Coral reef conservation
Predator-prey relationships in the African savannah
Reforestation
Using Team WILD as a stimulus to generate classroom discussion
Team WILD is an innovative way to engage students in classroom discussions related to science careers.
Similarly, Team WILD can be used to initiate thought-provoking discussions on the four topics that have
inspired the game, offering students the opportunity to explore and discuss a variety of science-based
issues and questions and helping them to consider the applications and implications of science in society.
Ideas for discussion
Amphibian conservation and the conservation of mountain chickens in Montserrat
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Discuss the ethics surrounding taking wild animals into captivity. Should we take animals from the
wild and breed them in captivity? Consider the mountain chicken as an example. What role can
zoos play in conservation? How has the role of zoos changed over time?
Explore the ways in which scientists are applying science and technology to tackle the spread of
chytrid fungus. Have scientists made any progress in the fight to stop the disease?
Coral conservation and the Chagos archipelago
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How are global warming and climate change impacting coral reefs, and what kind of effects will
this have on the wider marine ecosystem?
Consider the impacts of widespread marine threats such as overfishing, shark-finning and
pollution and discuss their impacts on global biodiversity. Which species are most at risk? What is
being done by the scientific community to minimise these threats to our marine biodiversity?
Discuss the costs and benefits of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in relation to conserving marine
biodiversity.
Reforestation
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Forest restoration efforts have the potential to remove 4 million tons of carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere every single year. Discuss the other impacts that reforestation projects might have on
things like biodiversity, the economy, local communities and the global climate, and why they will
be important.
Discuss the issues that are driving deforestation worldwide, for example palm oil and soy
production. Why is there such a demand for these products? What is the alternative?
Explore the issue of sustainability and how these are being addressed by companies and
organisations.
Predator-prey relationships, cheetahs and the African savannah
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Discuss how tourism may impact animal populations in the African savannah. Cheetahs, for
example, are daytime hunters and so tourism is likely to have a greater effect on this species than
on other large cats. Do the benefits of tourism outweigh the negative impacts? How else are
humans having an impact in the region (e.g. Serengeti highway proposal, poaching, etc)?
Populations of many large predators, such as cheetahs, are declining as their range becomes
increasingly fragmented. These smaller populations are at much greater risk of experiencing
genetic problems, such as inbreeding. Discuss these problems and explore what is being done to
help minimise them in future.
Discuss the factors that are driving the growing problem of human-wildlife conflict (for example,
human encroachment into species’ natural habitats). How are scientists investigating ways to help
predators and humans to co-exist in the larger landscape?
Team WILD game summary
Amphibian conservation
The mission
Learning outcomes
A deadly fungus is destroying
the world's amphibian
populations. Team WILD needs
to collect uninfected mountain
chickens (a frog) to breed them
and ensure the survival of the
species.
Captive breeding and reintroduction of mountain
chickens is the best hope of
survival for this species.
Join Team WILD's elite task
force of divers to help survey the
health of coral reefs in the
Chagos Archipelago.
Scientists need to monitor
coral reefs in the Chagos to
make sure climate change is
not having a negative effect
on the reef's health.
Team WILD needs help
combating deforestation in
Brazil.
Over 90% of the forest has
already been destroyed, so we
must act fast to
replant native tree species.
No tropical ecosystem has
suffered as much loss as
the Atlantic Forest in Brazil,
making reforestation
projects here very important.
Team WILD needs you on an
important mission to help
determine the relationships
between predators and prey in
the African savanna.
Scientists study predatorprey relationships to help
understand what might
cause population changes
over time.
Coral conservation
Reforestation
Predator-prey relationships
Team WILD – UK Curriculum Links
Team WILD is designed for 7-14 year olds and is relevant to the following aspects of programmes of study
in England and Wales (QCA 2007), and equivalent curricula in Scotland and Northern Ireland:
Age 7-11
KS2 Science
 Sc1.1a - science is about thinking creatively to try to explain how living and non-living things work,
and to establish links between causes and effects.
 Sc2. 5a - ways in which living things and the environment need protection
KS2 Citizenship
 1e - about the range of jobs carried out by people they know, and to understand how they can
develop skills to make their own contribution in the future
 2a - to research, discuss and debate topical issues, problems and events
Age 11-14
KS3 Science
 1.2b – examine the ethical and moral implications of using and applying science
 2.3a - use appropriate methods, including ICT, to communicate scientific information and
contribute to presentations and discussions about scientific issues
 4c - use real-life examples as a basis for finding out about science
 4k - make links between science and other subjects and areas of the curriculum
KS3 Citizenship
 2.1a - engage with/question and reflect on different ideas, opinions, assumptions, beliefs and
values when exploring topical and controversial issues and problems
 2.3a - explore creative approaches to taking action on problems and issues to achieve intended
purposes
4a - debate in groups and whole-class discussion topical and contemporary issues including those
of concern to young people
4j - make links between Citizenship and work in other subjects