Creation and Implementation of Educational Escape Games in PowerPoint
This poster will explore the impact of educational escape games on learning and provide tools that others can use to create similar games.
Presented by:
Rebecca Rivard, Villanova University
Hear it from the author:
Transcript:
Collaborative escape rooms or puzzle games can act as low stakes tools for encouraging students to exercise their knowledge and critical thinking skills. The use of such games in education can improve student knowledge and motivation. I created puzzle games in PowerPoint to expand students’ understanding of genetics, microbiology, and anatomy. The use of PowerPoint allowed all of the students in my large lecture classes to participate in solving the puzzles and reduced the cost of materials and set up time associated with a physical escape room. I will walk colleagues through the process I used to create these games so that they can make their own versions to fit their learning goals. I will also share data I have gathered regarding the impact of these interventions on student engagement and learning in my courses over the last few semesters. I am excited to get to talk with you about the utility of puzzle games in learning and assessment.
Key Words:
Active Learning, Puzzle Games, Engagement
Abstract:
Collaborative escape rooms can act as low stakes tools for encouraging students to apply their knowledge and critical thinking skills (Nicholson, 2018; Rivard, 2024). The use of educational escape rooms improves student knowledge and motivation (Bodnar et al., 2016). I created escape games to expand students’ understanding of genetics, microbiology, and anatomy. To accommodate everyone in my large classes, I built these activities in PowerPoint. I will share the development and implementation of these educational escape rooms. I will also share data I have gathered regarding the impact of these interventions on student engagement and learning.
Outcomes:
1. Learn how to create their own escape games in Powerpoint.
2. Understand the role of escape games in the classroom.
3. Plan to employ play in their courses to enhance student engagement.
References:
Bodnar, C. A., Anastasio, D., Enszer, J. A., & Burkey, D. D. (2016). Engineers at Play: Games as Teaching Tools for Undergraduate Engineering Students. In Journal of Engineering Education (Vol. 105, Issue 1, pp. 147–200). https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20106
Hermanns, M., Deal, B., Campbell, A. M., Hillhouse, S., Opella, J. B., Faigle, C., & Campbell IV, R. H. (2017). Using an “Escape Room” toolbox approach to enhance pharmacology education. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 8(4), 89. https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v8n4p89
Kinio, A., Dufresne, L., Brandys, T., & Jetty, P. (2017). Break Out of the Classroom: The Use of Escape Rooms as an Alternative Learning Strategy for Surgical Education. Journal of Vascular Surgery, 66(3), e76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvs.2017.07.034
Nicholson, S. (2018). Creating engaging escape rooms for the classroom. Childhood Education, 94(1), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2018.1420363
Rivard, R. S. (2024). Development and Implementation of an Educational STEM Escape Room to Improve Student Engagement with Course Material and Program Recruitment. Journal of College Science Teaching. https://doi.org/10.1080/0047231X.2024.2402389