EscapED: Educational Escape Rooms

An Escape Room experience for educational purposes employing mystery and problem solving to develop valuable skills.

Overview

An escape room is a physical adventure game in which players are ‘locked’ in a room and have to use elements of the room to solve a series of puzzles and escape within a set time limit. The games are physical versions of “escape the room” video games. Games are set in a variety of fictional locations, such as prison cells, dungeons and space stations, and are popular as team building exercises.

EscapED (part of the GameChangers initiative) has taken the concept of the escape room and repurposed it for use in Higher Education. The emphasis of the educational escape room is not on the learning within the allotted time of the game itself, but rather in the reflective process within the debrief period. The game itself merely provided the mechanism for which to create a rich reflective process.

Value Added

The value of an educational escape game depends on a variety of factors. Sometimes the value comes from soft skills development (communication, problem solving, team work etc.) as well as working to develop team dynamics.

This in turn can be transferred into other modules and disciplines to aid in the development of a holistic learning model which focuses on the graduate of the future as a flexible, well-rounded individual both academically and personally.

In other examples the value may come from the solving of a particular puzzle/riddle/challenge. The value comes from the use of the rooms as a tool to help your cohort meet their intended learning outcomes.

    Employer

    • An engaging and active teaching tool
    • Can be run within groups
    • Can be repurposed for specific disciplines
    • Can help identify which students may need further support

     

    Student

    • Develops team work and communication skills
    • Engaging way to learn
    • Provides the tools for reflection on team dynamics
    • Encourages teamwork and active participation

     

    Employer

    • Develops soft skills (team work, communication, etc.)
    • Helps to understand team dynamics and power relationships
    • Encourages teamwork and active participation