Escape Room Pedagogy and Its Role in Design Thinking Education

This study investigates the influence of the educational game design elements immersion, collaboration and debriefing, on fostering learning with educational escape rooms. We based the design of the escape room on an educational game design framework that aligns the learning goal and the game goal, that is, escaping from the room. One‐hundred‐and‐twenty‐six students, aged between 16 and 20 played the escape room. Measures for learning were pre‐and post‐tests. The game experience was measured through questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews with students and teachers. The results show a knowledge gain between pre‐and post‐test. Correlational analysis showed that all three design elements contributed to students' appreciation of the escape room, whereas only immersion had a direct contribution to knowledge gain. Based on the qualitative data it appeared that the used escape boxes contributed most to perceived immersion. Immersion helps students focus on each other and the tasks. Also, a narrative with distinct roles for each student helped to evoke immersion. Unexpectedly, these roles also scaffolded collaboration except for students in the school that engaged in a collaborative learning pedagogy. The study confirms the usability of the framework for game designs, based on theories for the design of physical and hybrid educational games. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic The escape room as a learning environment appeals to teachers of different disciplines, ages, gender and teaching experiences. Teachers implement escape rooms to create active (hybrid) learning spaces, where learners need a combination of knowledge and skills to solve the subject‐based activities. Students and teachers perceive that while participating in escape rooms, students are more engaged, active and learn more compared to regular classes. The assumption is that escape rooms support collaboration and automatically collaborative learning. Review studies on educational escape rooms show that a systematic evaluation is usually absent, disputable or indicates no knowledge gain. Teachers design their educational escape rooms based on digital escape games and/or their experience as players of escape rooms. For digital educational games, important game design aspects are researched. Three main challenges in designing educational games are (1) the participants' transition from the real world to the game world, (2) the alignment of game design aspects and educational aspects and (3) the transfer from attained experiences and knowledge back into the real world. What this paper adds This paper evaluates an educational game design framework for escape rooms, focussing on the above‐mentioned main challenges in designing educational games. It investigates the influence of the educational game design elements immersion, collaboration and debriefing, on fostering learning with a hybrid educational escape room. It informs that all three design elements contributed to students' appreciation of the escape room, whereas only immersion had a direct contribution to knowledge gain. The used hybrid escape boxes contributed most to the immersion; scaffolding students to focus on each other and the tasks. Students' collaboration was successfully fostered. However, it scarcely led to collaborative learning during gameplay, due to lack of discussion and reflection needed for deeper understanding. Implications for practice and/or policy The educational escape game framework would help educators creating immersive games, which not only confront learners with meaningful contexts but also give learning gains. The educational escape game framework would help researchers focussing on important and difficult aspects of designing and implementing educational escape rooms to develop and research more effective escape rooms. In guidelines on creating immersion in educational escape games, the notion of physical objects is lacking. In this hybrid escape room, the physical objects such as escape boxes were the most powerful in creating immersion. In addition, the use of sound design in escape games in classrooms seems overrated. Debriefing after the gameplay is perceived necessary to discuss common misunderstandings, to make connections between the topics in various puzzles and to add more content to interest high‐achieving students.

Escape rooms have been proven to be a functional game-based approach to teach a variety of subjects. Teachers as well as students are eager to play escape rooms in the classroom; field studies have demonstrated how escape games are a memorable activity with a high retention rate, especially if followed by a proper debriefing session, in which learnings emerged and are made consistent. In recent years literature on educational escape rooms has grown, yet there is little body of research on educational escape rooms on music education. In this paper we present an educational escape room about Afro-American music at the beginning of the past century. The players are asked to solve a murder case happened in the backstage of a jazz club in New Orleans. Such scenario gives the players/students the opportunity to "experience", within the escape room context, cultural and historical details and characteristics related to this musical genre. The puzzles within the escape room are formally related to jazz and Afro-American music, giving players/students the possibility to learn and have a "first-hand" experience with concepts that would otherwise remain purely theoretical within a normal classroom environment. Learning has been measured by the means of a 3-step test design: the pre-test was administered before playing the escape room, the first post-test was administered right after playing the escape room and before the debriefing, while the second post-test was administered two weeks after the debriefing phase. From a qualitative point of view the teacher has noticed high motivation while playing the game, with respect to a normal classroom activity. The quantitative results of the second post-test have shown students have retained many of the concepts presented within the escape room and this highlights the importance of a debriefing phase to consolidate learning after playing an educational escape room.

Although gamification is recognized for enhancing motivation and learning outcomes, there is a need for specific evidence on how innovative methods, such as educational escape rooms, affect learning experiences and teamwork. This study examined the effectiveness of using the educational escape room as an innovative approach for occupational therapy (OT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students. One-group, preexperimental, pre- and poststudy. A simulation laboratory at a university. Seventy-six OT and 38 OTA students enrolled in clinical skills classes were randomly assigned to teams of OT and OTA students. An escape room incorporating associated topics covered in the clinical skills course. Students worked collaboratively and applied their combined knowledge and critical thinking skills to solve 10 puzzles to escape in 1 hr. The Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale, Self-Assessment Scale for Active Learning and Critical Thinking, and a researcher-developed knowledge assessment were administered 2 wk before and immediately after the escape room experience to evaluate the students' intraprofessional collaboration, activity learning, critical thinking skills, and knowledge levels. Students' readiness for teamwork, activity learning, and critical thinking skills increased after participating in the escape room experience. Students' knowledge levels also improved, with a moderate effect size. These results suggest the possible benefits of educational escape rooms. Escape rooms are an increasingly popular, innovative teaching modality in health care education. This study validated that escape rooms promote students' learning outcomes and intraprofessional teamwork. Plain-Language Summary: This study assessed the effectiveness of using an escape room as a teaching tool in a clinical skills class for occupational therapy (OT) and occupational therapy assistant (OTA) students. The findings revealed significant improvements in the students' teamwork, active learning, critical thinking skills, and knowledge levels after the escape room experience. These results suggest that incorporating escape rooms into OT education can enhance learning outcomes and should be further explored in future studies with more rigorous experimental designs. This innovative approach benefits students' academic development and can affect OT practice. Fostering collaboration and critical thinking better prepares students to provide comprehensive and effective care to their future clients. This study contributes to the growing body of research that supports active learning pedagogies in OT education, highlighting the importance of engaging and experiential learning methods in preparing students for real-world practice.

Traditional large lecture classes can be passive experiences for students. Instead, imagine that several of those learners work at a sleep laboratory and admit four new patients. Within hours, the entire facility is on lockdown, and a mysterious voice on the intercom proclaims that all researchers will lose their ability to sleep within the next hour. This story is the plot of an interactive educational escape room (EER) where students work together and apply concepts related to the history of sleep research, circadian rhythms, and neurological concepts of sleep to solve puzzles. Conventionally, escape rooms are an entertainment experience that requires participants to escape a room in a limited timeframe. We have created a neuroscience EER designed to educate students about the neural basis of sleep, while providing small groups of students with an immersive and interactive experience. Students follow a specially designed digital escape room framework to review sleep pathways, researchers, and brain regions involved with sleep. Unlike conventional escape rooms that can accommodate a limited number of participants, this sleep lab EER is scalable to hundreds of students without the need for a specialized room. Puzzles are enhanced by digital technology that allows instructors to track the progress of every team and note how the entire classroom is doing. Students and teaching assistants had very positive experiences with this EER activity, reporting that the EER solidified course concepts while using creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking skills. We find that EERs are an easy, useful tool to increase engagement and boost inclusivity within large classroom settings, with potential to also be used as an assessment tool.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) holds the transformative potential to reshape education, particularly in the domain of content creation. One promising application lies in the development of educational escape rooms (EERs) which are increasingly adopted to foster active, experiential learning, critical thinking, and collaboration. Nevertheless, crafting effective EERs tailored to specific learning contexts often poses a daunting and time-consuming challenge. This paper explores the dynamic synergy between Room2Educ8, a framework rooted in Design Thinking principles, and the publicly accessible AI tool ChatGPT. Room2Educ8 provides a structured methodology encompassing vital steps like empathising with learners, defining learning objectives, weaving narratives, devising puzzles, briefing and debriefing participants, prototyping, and evaluating the EER experience. Complementing this framework, the paper presents a collection of sample prompts that illustrate ChatGPT's pivotal role within the EER creation process. By offering innovative ideas, suggestions, and content, these prompts not only expedite ideation and concept development but also simplify prototype creation for testing and refinement. This streamlining process reduces cognitive load, freeing educators to focus on higher-level considerations. The primary contribution of this paper lies in its harmonious fusion of ChatGPT with a structured design framework, effectively demystifying the EER creation process. With its practical guidance, including a prompt engineering guide, it extends the accessibility of EER design to a wide spectrum of educators, encompassing those with limited prior exposure to the intricacies of escape room formats. Beyond its immediate benefits, this paper serves as a gateway to future research prospects within the domain of AI-powered educational experiences, marking a step towards realising the potential of AI in the field of game-based learning.

Entrepreneurship is viewed as a social process where individuals need to collaborate to exploit an opportunity. The collaboration is a central component of educational escape rooms as these games are developed to encourage and enable the participants (in and across teams) to work together to solve the puzzles and escape the room. Current research has shown that millennials prefer informal learning experiences, such as educational escape rooms, due to their flexibility and because their activities generally engage and heighten their interests. These millennials, however, are also questioning how sustainable these escape rooms are. In this context, the track "Educational technology for social change" at Digital Society School has partnered with the Lectorate of Entrepreneurship at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences to address this issue, through a teaching innovation project, which will be offered to students who study entrepreneurship at the university. Specifically, during June-December 2020, a diverse group of designers, researchers, educators and developers, used design thinking and Agile methodologies to develop a prototype of a sustainable educational escape room for the development of key competencies for the entrepreneurship curricula, such as collaboration and financial literacy. The use of sustainable materials (those that can be produced in required volumes without depleting non-renewable resources) in the construction of educational escape rooms (EER) and the introduction of digital elements (e.g., applications, QR codes, augmented reality, embedded screens and speakers) into the design of the EER have been the key pillars of innovation of the prototype. Sustainable materials were used to create the physical elements of the EER while minimizing the footprint of the design. Purpose-built EER elements for one learning environment could re-purposed and modified for another learning environment. Important in using sustainable materials is that they were applied in such a way that learning outcomes of the EER are still met. Digital elements supplemented some of the physical components of the EER by offering adaptability. Digital components can be more easily reprogrammed for purpose-built EERs, thus making digital/physical EER elements reusable. The project features a unique combination of interests and expertise that are shared between the Digital Society School (DSS) and the Lectorate of Entrepreneurship at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. In the past year, the DSS has investigated several digital and physical technologies that aim to benefit society. In addition, DSS started a new line of research on new forms of education (track "Edtech for social change"). The combination of these two key points with the Lectorate’s interest to train the entrepreneurs of tomorrow, becomes a fertile ground for collaboration.The prototype is a great example of teaching innovation as a result of the collaboration among experts from different disciplines, while it serves the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and, especially, goal 4 "quality education" and goal 12 "responsible consumption and production".

PurposeEscape room-based learning is a new educational game-based learning trend which embeds student learning within an exciting escape room scenario. Ordinarily these educational escape rooms are in a table-top format which involves learners decoding clues together around a table. In the age of a global pandemic [coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)] with stringent social distancing and lock-downs, this normal game modality was not possible and so an alternate online approach was required. Thus, this paper aims to study escape room activities during global pandemics.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors outline how these escape room activities have been taken online, in an synchronous virtual environment and evaluate the student perception of these escape rooms, in contrast to previous cohorts of students who completed escape rooms together in person.FindingsThe authors' results indicate that although students enjoy the escape room game-based learning environment, the remote nature of the activity means the students take longer to solve the puzzles. The students are also more likely to struggle in the activity and find them less engaging than the in-person escape room challenges.Originality/valueAlthough educational escape rooms have been devised for a variety of subjects and can be run through several different modalities (table-top, full rooms and online), this study compares different modalities (online vs table-top) for identical puzzles taken over different cohorts of students.

Educational escape rooms can engage students in the development of information literacy skills while interacting with information formats and environments authentic to their disciplines. In business and entrepreneurship education, escape rooms offer the additional benefit of developing the characteristics of the entrepreneurial mindset, such as adaptive thinking, problem solving, enthusiasm, and decisiveness. This case study explores game-based learning for library instruction in entrepreneurship education. Using Eukel and Morrell’s (2021) escape room design cycle as a framework, it analyzes the development, testing, implementation, and results of an original escape room, Exfiltration! A Competitive Intelligence Virtual Escape Room, implemented as a course-integrated information literacy learning activity in an upper-level undergraduate new venture creation course. Limitations of the escape room are identified, and opportunities for iterative improvement are described. Recent scholarship on the application of entrepreneurial mindset, business research competencies, gamification, escape room pedagogy, and escape rooms in library instruction is discussed. This case study responds to the call from Taraldsen et al. (2020) for more small-scale studies of educational escape rooms outside of the STEM and health science disciplines.

Educational escape rooms have gained popularity as an innovative method for enhancing student engagement and problem-solving skills. However, little research has been conducted on how future teachers perceive different escape room designs and their potential application in school settings. This study investigates the perspectives of pre-service teachers specializing in mathematics, physics, and computer science on various educational escape room formats. The research compares four distinct escape room designs: (1) digital escape rooms created in Google Forms, (2) digital escape rooms designed using the Room Escape Maker tool, (3) fully immersive physical escape rooms designed as actual room, and (4) box-based escape rooms, which involve a physical chest containing objects and puzzles. Data were collected through multiple methods, including direct observation of students interacting with these escape room formats, interviews exploring their experiences and engagement, and an open-ended questionnaire assessing their perceptions of design effectiveness, feasibility for classroom integration, and overall educational value. The results show that while students personally preferred the immersive experience of physical escape rooms, they found digital formats to be more practical and feasible for classroom use due to lower logistical demands. However, box-based escape rooms emerged as a promising middle ground—offering hands-on engagement while being more manageable in school settings. Many students suggested combining digital and physical formats in their future teaching. The insights also inform the development of a teacher training workshop within the EcoMystery Erasmus+ project.

Exploratory implementation of a blended format escape room in a large enrollment pharmacy management class

Let's play and learn: Educational escape room to improve mental health knowledge in undergraduate nursing students

Context The educational escape room is an innovative teaching strategy, and the use of this technique is gaining popularity in some health care disciplines. It is believed to promote acquisition of knowledge and skills, increase motivation, and encourage engagement, critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving. Objective To describe the use of an innovative educational escape room in a master's-level athletic training course and to examine learning effectiveness and students' perceptions. Design Quasi-experimental. Setting A Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education–accredited master's-level athletic training program. Patients or Other Participants A convenience sample of 14 students enrolled in a master's-level professional athletic training program participated. Intervention(s) Educational escape room. Main Outcome Measures(s) A paired-samples t test was used to determine differences between preactivity and postactivity knowledge-assessment scores. Measures of central tendency were used for survey questions related to student perceptions of the activity. Student perceptions were assessed after the intervention. Results All participants completed the preactivity and postactivity knowledge assessments. The difference in scores was found to be statistically significant (t13 = −4.502, P = .001), with a large effect size (Cohen d = 1.32). Participants thought the escape room was an effective way to improve their knowledge of course materials (mean ± SD = 5.0 ± 0.0) and encouraged them to apply course material in a new way (mean ± SD = 4.9 ± 0.27). Participants reported that they had fun (mean ± SD = 5.0 ± 0.0) and felt that the activity was immersive (mean ± SD = 5.0 ± 0.00). Qualitative elements from the postactivity survey corroborated the data. Conclusions The education escape room described in this study promoted learning while providing a fun and engaging learning experience with positive perceived value.

Mathematics is one of the school subjects where demotivation, dislike and failure are frequent concerns. To address this, it is important to actively engage students in the classroom and employ resources that make math classes more appealing and captivating, leading to meaningful learning experiences.
 Active, cooperative, and participative learning methods should be prioritized over traditional didactic teaching and the mere transmission of knowledge. Active learning methods offer alternative approaches to the conventional lecture format, actively involving students in the learning process. The concept of an escape room, a gaming experience where participants must solve challenges to escape from a locked room, has gained popularity in educational contexts. The educational escape room is an extension of this concept, aiming to promote real-time problem-solving, teamwork, and discovery of clues and mysteries to facilitate active learning. By engaging in various tasks within a room, students work together in teams, fostering an active learning environment. The educational escape room offers several benefits, including the enhancement of problem-solving skills, student performance, and motivation. By incorporating gamification strategies into teaching and learning processes, this approach proves to be an effective way of promoting active learning in mathematics.
 In this paper, we present a case study that explores the use of an educational escape room with first-year undergraduate students from a Portuguese higher education institution, with the goal of improving their mathematical problem-solving skills. The study aims to evaluate how escape rooms can contribute to increased student motivation.
 To assess the perception of students regarding this escape room methodology, a quantitative survey was conducted. The findings indicate that using the escape room as an educational approach effectively increased student interest and improved learning outcomes in mathematics.

Early exposure to research methodology is essential in medical education, yet many students show limited motivation to engage with non-clinical content. Gamified strategies such as educational escape rooms (EERs) may help improve engagement, but few studies have explored their feasibility at scale or evaluated their impact beyond student satisfaction. To assess the feasibility, engagement, and perceived educational value of a large-scale escape room specifically designed to introduce third-year medical students to the principles of diagnostic test evaluation. We developed a low-cost immersive escape room based on a fictional diagnostic accuracy study, with six puzzles mapped to five predefined learning objectives: (1) identifying key components of a diagnostic study protocol, (2) selecting an appropriate gold-standard test, (3) defining a relevant study population, (4) building and interpreting a contingency table, and (5) critically appraising diagnostic metrics in context. The intervention was deployed to an entire class of third-year medical students across 12 sessions between March and April 2023. Each session included 60 minutes of gameplay and a 45-minute debriefing. Students completed pre-/post-intervention questionnaires assessing their knowledge of diagnostic test evaluation and perceptions of research training. Descriptive statistics and paired t-tests were used to evaluate score changes; univariate linear regressions assessed associations with demographics. Free-text comments were analyzed using Reinert's hierarchical classification. Among 530 participants, 490 completed the full evaluation. Many participants had limited prior exposure to escape rooms (206/490, 42% had never participated), and most reported low initial confidence with critical appraisal of scientific articles. All student teams completed the scenario, with a mean completion time of 53 (±4) minutes. Mean overall knowledge scores increased from 62/100 (±1) before to 82/100 (±2) after the activity (+32%, p<0.001). Gains were observed across all learning objectives and were not influenced by age, sex, or prior experience. Students rated the EER as highly entertaining (9.1±1.1/10) and educational (8.2±1.5/10). Following the intervention, 87% (393/452) felt more comfortable with critical appraisal of diagnostic test studies, and 79% (357/452) considered the escape room format highly appropriate for an introductory session. Thematic analysis of open-ended feedback identified six clusters, including engagement, teamwork, and perceived usefulness of the pedagogical approach. Word clouds showed a marked shift from negative to positive attitudes toward research training. This study demonstrates the feasibility and enthusiastic reception of a large-scale, reusable escape room aimed at teaching the fundamental principles of diagnostic test evaluation to undergraduate medical students. While not designed to cover the broader spectrum of research designs or methods, the intervention successfully addressed targeted objectives within a specific area of research appraisal. This approach may serve as a valuable entry point to engage students with evidence-based reasoning and pave the way for deeper exploration of medical research methodology.

Design of a disaster preparedness escape room for first and second-year pharmacy students