Students will work in teams on The Oregon Trail problem solving simulation in order to internalize the challenge and to experience the adversities faced by the pioneers during westward expansion.

Using limited funds, players must equip their wagons, balancing the need to survive on the trail with the necessity for moving quickly. Shortages will inevitably crop up along the way, and members of the wagon train can die of thirst, fever, snakebite, or many other perils... if you don't have the right equipment on hand to deal with the emergency. Even a well-equipped party can come to grief, though. Swamped wagons can lose critical supplies, and though there are people sprinkled along the trip who might provide help or trade goods, happening on the right trade is by no means assured.

  • A weekly journal entry is required to demonstrate reflection on the team collaboration and decision-making process, as well as to evaluate the impact of the decisions made during the course of the trail experience.
  • Journal entries should demonstrate how negative consequences of one decision have impacted new decisions (learning from mistakes).
  • The winning team will receive an award at the end