Required science courses can be fun, too: using an escape room as an instructional tool.

Nadine Stecher

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Conference: 2024 ASEE North East Section
Location: Fairfield, Connecticut
Publication Date: April 19, 2024
Start Date: April 19, 2024
End Date: April 20, 2024
Page Count: 16
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--45778
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/45778
Download Count: 69

Paper Authors

biography

Nadine Stecher Wentworth Institute of Technology

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Nadine Stecher is an assistant professor of sciences at Wentworth Institute of Technology, where she teaches introductory and upper level biology courses. She strives to create engaging teaching activities and is especially interested in gamification of teaching. Being a puzzle and boardgame enthusiast herself, she has created several gamified lab activities that she uses in her teaching.

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Abstract

Students majoring in Biomedical Engineering typically must complete the Anatomy & Physiology (A&P) course sequence. A&P comes with a lot of new vocabulary and the discussion of many complicated cellular processes, which can make it challenging for the instructors to keep students interested. To make the course material more appealing to engage with, an A&P activity was developed at this institution in the shape of an escape room. This presentation outlines and assesses this pedagogical approach, and describes alterations that were made in subsequent iterations of the escape room activity. The escape room pilot was created in a physical space, consisting of three hands-on puzzles that focused on physiological concepts that are often difficult for students. The activity was conducted in singular groups of 2-3 students each. Participation was voluntary and for extra credit. No help was offered from the instructors. Among the 16 groups (42 students) attempting the escape room, 11 groups (27 students) were unsuccessful and were offered the chance to repeat the same activity with reduced time. 8 groups (21 students) returned for the second attempt, among which 4 groups (12 students) succeeded. Students were asked to complete an optional, anonymous Likert-scale-type survey after each experience, which included questions to assess their perception of the educational value of the escape room activity and their level of enjoyment. After their first attempt, 97% of students (n=29) agreed that knowledge of the class material was essential to the successful completion of the escape room, and 100% of students (n=21) agreed with that statement after the second attempt. 64% of students (n=19) enjoyed the first experience and 50% of students (n=15) were frustrated. 81% of students (n=17) enjoyed themselves the second time around while 38% of students (n=8) felt frustrated. Because using a physical space limited the accessibility of the escape room activity, it was converted into a virtual escape room for subsequent semesters, which only required a computer and internet access. Further improvements included the addition of a new puzzle, allowing students to work in larger groups, providing more time, and making instructors available to offer help. It has now become a customary activity of the A&P1 course at this institution, although it is still voluntary and for extra credit. The student survey was not repeated and no further data regarding level of enjoyment was collected. However, interviews with students revealed that they feel challenged by this activity, but still find it enjoyable and relevant. Furthermore, the success rate increased. For example, in the most recent run of this activity, all participating students (n=26) completed all puzzles of the escape room.

Citation
Format

Stecher, N. (2024, April), Required science courses can be fun, too: using an escape room as an instructional tool. Paper presented at 2024 ASEE North East Section, Fairfield, Connecticut. 10.18260/1-2--45778

TY - CPAPER
AB - Students majoring in Biomedical Engineering typically must complete the Anatomy &amp;amp; Physiology (A&amp;amp;P) course sequence. A&amp;amp;P comes with a lot of new vocabulary and the discussion of many complicated cellular processes, which can make it challenging for the instructors to keep students interested. To make the course material more appealing to engage with, an A&amp;amp;P activity was developed at this institution in the shape of an escape room. This presentation outlines and assesses this pedagogical approach, and describes alterations that were made in subsequent iterations of the escape room activity. The escape room pilot was created in a physical space, consisting of three hands-on puzzles that focused on physiological concepts that are often difficult for students. The activity was conducted in singular groups of 2-3 students each. Participation was voluntary and for extra credit. No help was offered from the instructors. Among the 16 groups (42 students) attempting the escape room, 11 groups (27 students) were unsuccessful and were offered the chance to repeat the same activity with reduced time. 8 groups (21 students) returned for the second attempt, among which 4 groups (12 students) succeeded. Students were asked to complete an optional, anonymous Likert-scale-type survey after each experience, which included questions to assess their perception of the educational value of the escape room activity and their level of enjoyment. After their first attempt, 97% of students (n=29) agreed that knowledge of the class material was essential to the successful completion of the escape room, and 100% of students (n=21) agreed with that statement after the second attempt. 64% of students (n=19) enjoyed the first experience and 50% of students (n=15) were frustrated. 81% of students (n=17) enjoyed themselves the second time around while 38% of students (n=8) felt frustrated. Because using a physical space limited the accessibility of the escape room activity, it was converted into a virtual escape room for subsequent semesters, which only required a computer and internet access. Further improvements included the addition of a new puzzle, allowing students to work in larger groups, providing more time, and making instructors available to offer help. It has now become a customary activity of the A&amp;amp;P1 course at this institution, although it is still voluntary and for extra credit. The student survey was not repeated and no further data regarding level of enjoyment was collected. However, interviews with students revealed that they feel challenged by this activity, but still find it enjoyable and relevant. Furthermore, the success rate increased. For example, in the most recent run of this activity, all participating students (n=26) completed all puzzles of the escape room.
AU - Nadine Stecher
CY - Fairfield, Connecticut
DA - 2024/04/19
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Required science courses can be fun, too: using an escape room as an instructional tool.
UR - https://peer.asee.org/45778
DO - 10.18260/1-2--45778
ER -